A Flame's Theft
by LittlewriterLink
Summary: This is a story about a young man named Link who was named after the Hero of Time, with his mother sick and his father presumed dead, Link has looked after his mother and sister since being young. He meets the young Princess Zelda and together they go on an adventure from Hyrule to Termina, meeting a few well known people along the way and discovering the mysteries of Link's past.
1. A Nights Work

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter One – A Night's Work

An owl's hoot disturbed the silence of the castle guard. The armoured soldiers marched along the stone walls, their tired eyes peering through windows in the brick for any intruders trying to cross the rapid water that was flowing through the moat into town. The night had been quiet and relatively peaceful even the stars twinkled like little nightlights in the clear skies above. The peace was only to be disturbed by an orange glow coming close to a giant drawbridge that was raised up for the night, through the dark and abandoned streets, clear of the townspeople.

"Halt!" a guard shouted pushing his hand out at the carrier of the orange glow "What business do you have in the field at this hour?"

The carrier of the glow said nothing; they only placed a small iron lantern on the cobblestone in remark.

"I ask again, state your business!" the guard growled coming towards the stranger. The stranger was a boy, no older that fifteen, hidden in a cape; the only thing showing through it was a small pointed chin and a pair of hands, the left of which was gloved in leather. The boy did not say a single word; his shadowed eyes just stared at the drawbridge as several guards aimed their crossbows at him, the boy could hear ever click of the safety on their weapons, yet he smiled.

The guard reached for the hood of his cape and attempted to pull it back but the boy gripped his wrist tightly so that the leather of his glove made a sound. The very action both shocking and angering the guard as the boy's hidden eyes continued to face the drawbridge. The boy pushed back slightly, releasing the man from his grasp and picked up his lantern before starting to walk forward again, seemingly unaware of the danger he had put himself in.

"Shoot him!" the guard squealed. The boy halted and lifted his arm up so that the arrow stuck into it, the guard stood up and pointed his spear at the boy as not one drop of crimson stained the cobblestone. The boy even pulled the arrow out of his arm before turning around and retreating into the shadows of the nearby streets "It's him again!"

The boy let out a startled gasp and started running, arrows stabbing through the cobblestones as he crossed them, he dashed around the back of a building as the sound of feet began to echo through the empty streets and lowered the sleeves of his cape to tut at the block of wood hidden on his right arm. It had saved him from the pain of the point and he was thankful for it. Torches were lit and the mood of the town changed from the sleepy shelter he had come out to, to about as safe as walking on lava. He let out a groan and edged across the brick wall that his back was against till his hands touched some leaves, blowing his lantern out, he quickly climbed up and crawled across the red roof tiles to the chimney. Lanterns and torches filled the streets like an orange river along with spears and other sharp things that would hurt when touched so the cover of darkness was no longer his friend and there was no way he was throwing himself into meaningless danger like that. He removed his hood to show a pair of sea blue eyes and blond hair that was close to brown and was tied up in a leather band, underneath his cape was a long bow, the string crossing his shirt, and a tanned quiver with arrows on his back; each arrow with a red feather on the end; with this, he had a small pouch on his left hip that was shut with an old button. He carefully removed the bow from under his cape and pulled a small coil of rope from his back; tying the end of the rope around the arrow, he crouched down on the tiles to shoot the arrow at a building across the town, managing to hit his target, another chimney, and pull the rope tight before it touched the ground, he tied the other end around the chimney with a loose knot.

He swung himself up and began to pull himself along the rope as silent as the wind, praying that no one would look up, being unable to protect himself in his position.  
After reaching the roof, he tugged the arrow out of the chimney and pulled at the rope to let the knot come away on the other chimney and land on the cobblestone. As he did so he felt something tug on the other side; a familiar weight; one that he smiled at. Gripping with her teeth on the end of the rope was a dark chocolate coloured dog with the pinkest of noses; really just a puppy. On her back was a green bag that was tied up with rope. He scratched her behind the ears and tapped his shoulder. The little dog jumped up and lay down to let him tie the coil of rope he had pulled around her to keep her tied onto his back.

The boy rubbed his fingers across the underside of his boots to let a small knife blade come out at the toes and stabbed them into the walls, climbing up the wall like a spider.  
He looked left and right before jumping over the side of the wall into the moat below, the water being pelted with arrows as he swum through the bars that blocked of the rough waters from the main river.

Safe.

The boy surfaced with a throaty gasp in the river, his limbs tired with fighting the current. He hauled himself onto land and untied the soaked puppy from his back before lying down; the puppy pawed his arm and yapped in his face to get him to play, but the boy sliced the air with his hand to silence her. The pup obeyed. He let out a light chuckle and patted his shoulder to let her snuggle for a hug for a moment. He had found the pup only a couple of months ago in a ditch with her drowned siblings but she was growing fast with a beautiful coat and hyper personality, though she was still very young, the pup rarely acted like one on the job, understanding hers perfectly and staying in the zone till it was done.

He had given her a name. Pippa.

Pippa wagged her long tail and licked his cheek with a rough pink tongue that told him she had been in the rubbish bins again. Though he had given her a bath which made her look twice as big, the loyalty she showed meant that she would be by his side no matter what happened.

The sun would be rising soon and they needed to be out of sight. Now. The boy jumped up and picked up Pippa in one hand before whistling with the other. He began to break into a run as a chestnut horse came galloping out of the shadows, coming to the call of her master. He slipped Pippa into a small pouch just her size by the reigns before jumping on himself. Pippa loved riding up here, she could see for miles and the speed they went made her cheeks blow up like balloons. She barked at her master, he stroked her behind the ears and flicked the reigns, disappearing in a cloud of dust from the angered town.

The boy slowed down the horse and walked through a gate. A small village that he had grown up in greeted him. The morning sun had not alarmed anyone to wake yet, but the sky was still turning pink and yellow. The boy stroked the mare and patted his shoulder for the pup to jump on; she missed and landed in his arms, putting her small paws onto his chest.

If dogs could smile. She would be.

The boy gently placed her in the grass and began to unload the horse as a wooden door without a window opened in a brick building in front of him. A girl stood in the doorway, no older than him, in a white dress with a simple orange flower in the middle, her hair was brown and tied into a ponytail down her back; she wore no shoes but her feet were clean.

"Link! You're back!" the girl shrieked jumping down the brick steps and running into the boy's arms, he smiled, Pippa growled with jealousy. Link still said nothing but let out a contented sigh. "Did you get it?"

He nodded and reached a hand into his cape. Bringing out a small grey bag out that was tied tight with dark string through the loops within it. He offered it to the girl

"Mother will be pleased you got back safely. She worries." the girl mumbled

Link swallowed hard

"Mother's okay. She will be with the spores, you did get them right?" the girl giggled giving him a light punch on the shoulder that made him grimace; but he nodded anyway. "Why are you wet?"

Link rolled his eyes and opened his mouth as if to speak, yet said nothing.

"You can tell me later. We need to take some this time." the girl spoke giving him the same eyes Pippa was giving him on the ground.

Link nodded once and picked up Pippa on the floor. She licked his face and pawed his chest as he let out a yawn. She whined with concern for her master as he took his cargo and her inside the house the child had run into.

Inside was closed off by shutters; that only let through pencil thin rays of morning sunshine. Link put the pup down and let her dive into a well-earned bowl of wet food, her face getting covered in the remains of meat from last night's meal to the point of her hind legs lifting from the floor till she was doing a handstand in her bowl.  
Link untied the bag from her back and placed them on the table. Then he turned on his heel and thumped his head against the wall to his side. He hated stealing. _Loathed_ it with a great passion, but he could not afford the rupees for the medicine they so desperately needed.

He was tired of putting himself in danger that could have him killed but he could not think to even look his mother in the eyes if he had failed her. After all, he had done this for two years. He had taught himself how to shoot; as the man of the house, his father, was nowhere to be found. Though, he had been left the bow and a few red feathered arrows before he vanished from their lives forever, even so they were true to their targets for their age.

That was why he had left them with him.

Link let a tired tear trickle down his face. Mother was getting sicker by the day; he was not sure how long he could keep his family smiling. It scared him. His sister, Rosie; looked after their mother night and day while he was out. Getting any rupees he could earn by working in the day or stealing at night. Thankfully Rosie had no idea how he got the medicine; he could not bear the thought of her innocent life being exposed to his criminal one.

After all, he was only fifteen.

Link shook his head and unpacked the cargo in the small cupboards. The scratched glass bottles that held the dark mushroom spores he had stolen and placed a small loaf of crusty, stale bread next to it with another bottle of milk. He closed the cupboard door and dipped his hands in his pockets with a sigh.

A single green rupee.

That was not nearly enough for food for later in the week. He would have to steal again.  
Pippa barked and put her paws on his feet. Link crouched down and scratched her behind the ears. She barked again with a concerned whine and dashed outside through a hole in a lower cupboard that served as an entrance and exit for her.

Link rolled his eyes and walked into an even smaller room. Greeted with a rag that served as a moth covered door; the patterns within it were old and worn now, unable to be depicted from each other. He pushed the rag out of the way and sat down on his knees on the floor; his eyes facing the flickering candles that lit the room.

"Link?" a voice asked as a hand came into his room. Link did not move. He kept his hands on his knees and his gaze lowered. "It's alright, son."

Link looked up for a moment to see the fragile body in front of him, wrapped in old, dusty sheets on a bed made of rotting wood and straw. Hidden within the sheets was a woman, no older than forty, yet had the wrinkly skin of a person in their late-eighties; her dark blue eyes were like vast oceans and her toothless mouth was rolling around in her skull as she tried to swallow the tiny rough leaves that Rosie was dropping into her mouth.

"Here, Link." Rosie mumbled offering the grey bag that was still full of leaves to him. He dipped a hand in and swallowed the leaves with Rosie, both grimacing at the taste. The taste was peculiar; one where you either loved it or hated it, it was different to everyone, but swallowing more than one at a time made the tastes merge together and taste like you were eating socks that had been worn for a whole year without washing. Link clicked his fingers. "I'm fine, Link. You don't have to check."

Link glared at her and clicked them again, raising an eyebrow as he did so.

"Rosie, Link gets concerned about us too." the woman in the bed moaned folding her shaking arms. Rosie rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out, the leaves had stained it bright red. Link nodded and stuck his own out

"Yours is red too. I told you." Rosie snorted; they both turned their gaze to their mother, who had jokingly stuck her tongue out too. They held back their grimaces. Her tongue had been stained brown by the leaves; her tongue so rough it looked like tiny mushrooms were growing on it. Rosie jumped up and broke into the cupboard, reaching for the jar of mushroom spores; she offered them to their mother by pouring some into a shallow dish so not to waste a speck.

Link's eyes travelled to an empty bucket that sat in the corner and stood up, his mother half guessing where he was going. Link was very much like his late father, loving the outdoors. He threw a shawl over his shoulder and picked up a basket of clothes.

"Link!" his mother snapped clicking her fingers, Link flattened his ears and turned on his heel. "You have been awake all day and all night. You should sleep first."

Link shook his head with a yawn and tapped the basket with his fingers, lifting his eyebrows and widening his eyes

His mother sighed out loud, knowing she was not going to win against the provider of the household.

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A little earlier than I planned but hey, I think it's a good start, this is a stand alone story compared to the others I've wrote recently, upload days will be on Saturdays (29th March onwards), I just felt like uploading today for some unexplainable reason. Plus, I love to hear your comments and stuff. Yay! Also fans of my previous stories, thanks for sticking around! I couldn't do this without you guys, though I don't always get to reply to your comments, I read them all! :D  
So what do you think? I've taken on the challenge of making Link completely silent, which is REALLY hard, oh well, to late to change it now and I always like a challenge. What do you think of Pippa? She's of my own creation and I think she's a good little character.


	2. The Bottom Of The Well

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter Two - The Bottom Of The Well

Link washed his hands in the sink using a bar of soap that Pippa had nearly swallowed thinking it was food once. He was unsure if the taste of lavender was changing her appetite slightly as the Cuccos outside were getting a little braver with her around them now. Every night he would have to brush her coat free of feathers when she had pounced on one, wanting them to play with her. Of course, the Cuccos were used to her bouncing around, falling over her feet when she got excited, as pups often do.

He carried out the bucket and walked the short distance to the well. A stone well that kept every person and animal well watered. He tied the bucket to the small string that was attached to the wooden post above the well itself.

"Morning, Link!" a cheery voice came from behind him, startling him and making him fall headfirst into the well with a shallow splash. "Whoops. Are you alright?"

Link glanced up at her with a silent moan. But his frown suddenly changed to horror as the water had dried up; almost every drop had vanished from the well, apart from the shallow puddle that Link had crashed into. His feet were just off the ground, kicking the little stones that occupied the floor; but his waist was above the water level. He had known that the water was emptying from the well, but the clouds were thick with rain and the wind was to cool for drought.

"I know, right? That brain of yours is working; isn't it?" the cheery voice giggled cannonballing into the water. Soaking him even more and renewing his frown. "Don't give me that look. It's fun."

Link brushed his hair out of his eyes and stared at the person in front of him. A charming, if not loud young girl at fourteen years old swum before him, she had short curly red hair that stopped at her shoulders and bright green eyes; her clothes consisted of a bright blue dress with a darker blue edging and V-neck collar and a pair of brown sandals. Link sighed, as the girl lay a hand on his shoulder and splashed more water in his face.

Link lowered his shoulders and cocked his head to the side.

"What?" the girl smirked following his gaze to the wall behind her. There was a small crack in the bricks that built it up the well. Link put a hand to his chin in thought and leaned against the wall, staring into the crack. "That's where all the water's going?" the girl smirked putting an eye to the hole, Link threw his arms into the air.

The girl began to pull out a loose brick and dropped in the water, then another, and another. Link grabbed her wrist gently and pulled her back as more of the water around them began to trickle through the gap she had made. She glanced at him; closing her eyes as a little brown rock fell from the top of the well next to Link. Link let out a noticeable tut as the little brown rock was not a little brown rock, but a wet puppy covered in white feathers.

Pippa barked at the two-legged as she swum in the wet, spitting out a few feathers as her master scooped her up. Master pointed to some square stones that were higher up and knelt down to push some of the grey stones that were in the wet. Master had a nice furless face for being a two-legged; it always wore happiness, or at least most of the time. The corners of his mouth would turn upward and sometimes it would open when he was really happy with her, though his tongue never lolled over his teeth like hers. She could tell Master was tired, he was yawning a lot and his eyes were never fully open unless he was barking at someone in his silent voice. He needed rest. She barked for his attention as the she-two-legged continued to move more grey stones; he looked at her with his grey eyes. They were bright but dull at the same time. She whined at him, tilting her head to the side. Master stroked her head, using his short brush like nails to dig into her coat. It was lovely. She relaxed in his arms with a sigh as the she-two-legged clambered into the hole she had made. Master was a little more reluctant to follow.

Link cradled the pup in his arms and climbed through the hole to where his friend was. She ran on ahead leaving him to look around the old well. The bricks were slimy and damp with the water that was constantly flowing through and all light had vanished from within as the remains of soaked torches hung on the walls, clogged with mildew.

"Come on, Link!" the girl shouted from the end of the corridor. Link put Pippa down on the ground and yanked out a torch from the wall; feeling for a dry spot on the wall beneath it, he ran the end up the bricks to light it. The walls were so damp that the bricks crumbled at his touch. With a defeated sigh he lowered his arm and looked at the wall curiously, the torch strike may not have made the torch light but had made a straight white line that was visible in the dark. His hand tightened on the torch as he followed the girl. Pippa at his heels.

"Where's your brother, Rosie? It doesn't take him that long to get water." Link's mother asked braiding her orange hair in her shaking fingers

"I don't know." Rosie shrugged washing her hands "Pippa's gone looking for him so I wouldn't worry."

"Ah, Pippa, she loves him." her mother sighed leaning back on her pillow "They have been inseparable since he found her."

"Why did you let him keep her, Mother?" Rosie complained

Her mother looked appalled. "You know Link's condition. Having a friend that is about as silent as him makes their bond strong. I am never going to ask him to put her out. He's trained her well."

"I wouldn't call it a 'condition'" Rosie snorted, her mother sliced the air with her hand

"Link doesn't have a proper voice, Rosie. I told you this when you were very young. Though he makes sounds like grunts and gasps, he doesn't have the power to speak words."

"Mother, I've heard it all before."

"Then you should be reminded of it."

"Mother, you should get some rest, save your strength."

"You have no idea what your brother does for us." her mother grunted shutting her eyes.  
For she had worked out why Link would sneak off at dawn for the medicine when it would only take him half the day to get to town and back, it also made sense why he was always doing chores when he came home. To pay back for his criminal acts and clear his mind. Though Link had a good reason for stealing, she knew he would never steal unless he had to; that was why Rosie could never know why he always took his bow to get the medicine. She would hate herself if he got caught or if Pippa got snatched. "And that is something that you should never find out."

Pippa barked at Master, her paws were soaked with trotting in the shallow water around them. Master needed rest. Now. But no matter how much she tugged at his chewy-paws, he never swayed from following the she-two-legged. Master picked her up and placed her on his shoulder, she liked being up here, though it was still as dark as on the floor. The she-two-legged shouted something in two-legged language that she could not understand. Master rolled his eyes and began to run, slow, but fast for a two-legged. They came to a hole where there was wet, Master knelt down and dipped his furless paws into the wet and stuck his tongue out. The wet smelled bad, though the two-legged could not smell it, she could; it smelled like rotten meat, a smell that had caught her nose before, but hoped that she would never smell again. For some reason though, the scent of rotten meat was moving and not with the air like normal scents. This one was moving in steps like a two-legged or feathered dog. Pippa yapped at Master, falling off his shoulder in alarm. Master turned his head and caught her before she hit the stone floor. She continued to yap, backing up slightly and raising her head up high to carry the sound of her howls.

"What's up with Pippa?" the girl asked folding her arms. Link glanced at the howling pup and held out a hand. Pippa whined and ducked her tail in between her legs. Link's ears flicked up as something bashed into the wall cracking the bricks slightly and crumbling some dust from them into the stinking water.

Link grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her back as a brick crashed into the water to reveal a skeletal arm and hand clawing at the bricks at the scent of the living. The girl let out a scream, Link let out an audible scream as well. Pippa barked them back to focus. Link nodded and crouched down so she could jump up on his back.

They skidded through the twisted tunnels they had crossed through using Link's markings till the bright morning light blinded them at the bottom of the well. Footsteps echoed within with roars of the skeletal monsters that followed their hot-footed trail. Link glanced around for a second; his gaze fell on the rope that the bucket was attached to then to his friend. Without another moment of thought he untied the bucket from the rope and tied it around his friend's waist. Before she could say a word of complaint; Pippa hopped from his shoulder onto hers as Link got her standing on his shoulders. The pup leapt for the swinging rope above and her jaws snapped shut. The little weight she carried brought the rope into the girl's reach that then lowered it into Link's. Pippa growled as Link hoisted the girl back up to the top of the well; the skeletal figures were starting to approach. Roaring their battle cries as they had found a boy. Pippa charged, narrowly dodging a rusty sword that struck the stones instead of her. Pippa snarled at a skeletal figure, barking her warnings and threats at their deaf ears. Link edged backwards till his hands touched the walls; his heart thumping against his chest.

"Link! Grab on!" the girl shouted from above lowering the rope to him. A skeletal figure however was leaning over him; staring through tiny green ovals they called eyes. It roared in his face, a roar so loud and powerful that Link's hair blew in its breath from its toothless jaw. It suddenly let out a scream in shock as Pippa dug her teeth into the skeletal figure's left leg, going for the ankle bone more than the leg itself as she was too small to reach otherwise. She clung on as the skeletal figure as it thumped her with its shield arm, forcing her to roll into Link's feet; her jaws still clinging onto the monster's foot.

Link picked up his irritable and sore pup in his arms, scratching her behind the ears to comfort her as he turned his back on the skeletal figure that raised its sword

"Link, catch!" the girl shouted as a bow clonked on the skeletal figure's forehead. The quiver of arrows and tool-pouch bashing into it shortly after. Link opened his tool-pouch with his free hand and sprinkled his arrow tips with black powder, striking them up the wall he let them hiss in his hand. Before the skeletal figure could react, the bricks exploded around them. Covering it and its friend in debris.

Link leaned against a wall in the tunnel with a silent laugh of nervousness, clinging onto his most treasured of possessions: his beautiful long bow and quiver and his trusty pup. He heard Pippa give a sigh of relief as she chewed the foot to pieces, but never swallowing it. Link looked up from her; most of the exit was blocked off, barely any room to squeeze through; so that only left the option to walk through the tunnels to find an exit.

He placed Pippa on the floor and pulled out a small worn out candle, no bigger than a tea-light from the tool-pouch and lit it by making sparks on the wall with a clean arrow. Next he felt around for a torch and touched the orange flame to the wood, it lit up almost immediately.

And Pippa wanted to carry it.

Of course, the stick was much bigger than her and she kept dropping it, so Link was sure to bring another lit one, just in case. Pippa looked offended, after all; sticks were a dog's thing.

They wandered around for what seemed like forever till they came to the place the skeletal figures came from. Beyond the water, there was a dark blue chest and stone sign to the side of it. Link lifted a finger to his face at Pippa. She plonked her backside down in slight annoyance; she wanted to follow him across the water but one torch out was enough.

Link rubbed his fingers across the sign, the words almost unreadable with age combating them.

_The key to water is ice and the key to ice is wood._

Link glanced over at the chest, his eyes swerving from the sign and it for about a minute. He opened the chest and coughed with the dust that had erupted from inside. Though, he had not expected the chest to be a tunnel to somewhere.

Link rolled his eyes at the sound of Pippa's whines and tapped his left hip. He dropped the torch and dived into the water, her tongue lying over her teeth as he placed her on his stomach and strapped his bow over his shoulder.

They slid down the tunnel with a sharp intake of his breath.

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That place gives me the creeps. A little more on Link and Pippa's relationship there. Pippa gets her very own POV in this story so that's why some of the language is odd. It's early! Whoo!

You have to work out what she is talking about but to the people who are already rushing to comment that it makes no sense, I'll give you a hint, because it's only going to get harder.

Pippa's vocab

Master - Link  
Two-legged - human  
He/she-two-legged - male/female human  
Chewy-paws - shoes or boots  
Feathered dog - birds  
Paws - feet or hands  
Wet - water or liquid

If you still don't understand, I am open to your questions anytime.


	3. Ice

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter Three - Ice

Link was sure his back would be covered in grime by now. He had lost track of the time they had been sliding and Pippa was starting to get restless on his front. He stroked her with a hand down her back as the slide in the chest suddenly ended, dropping them on the damp stone floor.

Pippa let out a whine and sniffed the ground as Link rose to his feet, rubbing his backside and grimacing at the sight of his back. He did the washing and these stains were _not_ going to come out easily.

The tunnel was small with a tiny blue light at the end of it; it sounded like it was humming. Pippa barked and dived towards it; trying to snap it up in her jaws but as soon as she was close to the little light, it vanished. Pippa barked when it reappeared behind her; but the light zoomed straight towards Link, hovering around his treasured bow. He took a worried step back as the little blue light flew up to his face, bathing the bridge of his nose in gentle blue light and touching either side of his nose with a pair of tiny blue hands that were surrounded by smoke. Link stared into the unblinking eyes of the creature with unease, eyes of snow white stared back, and the body of the creature was as hazy as the smoke that clouded around it.

Pippa snarled at his feet causing the creature to turn peach in colour, tiny fists falling to their sides, the peach slowly turned to sunset orange and the eyes changed from the pupiless white to an angry red.

"Leave this place." it said, with a voice louder than he had anticipated it to have. Link fell over backwards as Pippa jumped into his arms trying to snap up the light. "I said, leave!" the creature bellowed, throwing its tiny arms into the air, sending sparks in all directions from its finger tips. Link cuddled Pippa as she growled at the creature who shouted.

"Flame!" a male voice shouted, footsteps echoed in the tunnel "Quit scaring the boy!"

The one named Flame growled out loud and flew down the tunnel which was shorter than they had expected. The creature turned blue once more and with the rattle of a lantern had vanished. Link braced himself for attack but an elderly man with a slight limp came into view, waving the blue lamp. His chin stuck out to show a few yellow teeth over his top lip and his tired, black eyes were perched just above a square nose and his head hung low on hunched shoulders. He carried the lantern in a raised right hand and his other was clenched into a small fist. Not a single hair was on his head or on his shoulders as he half limped towards Link, offering his free hand to the shaking pile of boy.

"Why can't I go out?" Flame roared; its voice respectfully male "The other's do and they are fine!"

"You will be quiet, Flame!" the man grunted "It is alright, child. Flame is a good Poe Light. He will not harm you."

Link nodded and took the man's hand. Pippa growled at him till Link hissed through his teeth like a snake sharply. She settled down in his hands again.

"You have a brave Labrador. What is her name?" the man whispered stroking the pup behind the ears to calm her fiery temper, though the touch was not the same as her master's hand.

Link mouthed her name. Pippa glanced up at him as if he had said it out loud, her hazel eyes giving him her full attention

"A mute? That's a new one, Flame." the man grumbled, looking into his lamp with an angry glare

"Don't look at me!" shook the lamp, turning a nasty shade of red "It's not my fault!"  
Link lifted a hand up and opened his mouth slightly as he slipped Pippa onto his shoulder.

"It is not alright!" the man snapped flicking the lamp

"I didn't do it! There isn't a voice to give back!" the lamp roared back

"You have been mute your whole life?" the man asked giving him a funny look; Link swallowed hard and nodded a reply.

The man said nothing but kept giving him that look; an unsure smirk. Link felt his ear being licked by Pippa as she tried to end the awkward silence.

"My name is Dampé. Can I ask how you got here?" the man asked setting the lamp down to the grumpy remarks of the one inside as Link began to 'chatter', opening and shutting his mouth as quick as it would let him, his arms followed suit, acting out all that had happened. Dampé let out a nervous laugh that made the boy pause mid-action. "Sorry lad, but I don't understand what you are going on about."

Link let out a sigh in frustration and flapped his arms in motion with each other, keeping his elbows in and hands flat as if to demonstrate his point. Dampé just shook his head. Link let out a growl and buried his head in his hands

"Can you write?"

Link glanced up with a sharp turn of his head, his eyes beaming at the idea. Pippa nearly fell off his shoulder.

"Follow me; I know where there is a note pad and pencil." Dampé spoke picking up the lantern and limping forward "You coming, child?"

Link glanced back for a second and tightened his quiver around his waist; pulling his grubby, tanned shirt down and let Pippa off his shoulder; she tucked her tail between her legs, her teeth bared in a growl. Link tapped his left hip as he passed her but the pup did not move an inch. Link turned his back on her and tapped his left hip a little harder, clicking his tongue as he did so; but Pippa refused to follow.

She hated Master when he was unhappy. But he could not smell the stench coming from the he-two-legged that was moving away from them, it was that of death; however this smell had a flowery scent compared to the one from earlier; no, it was the bright grey hot-beast-without-hot in the case that was frightening her. It smelt ill, but not sick.  
The sick-she-two-legged in the den where Master and the smaller she-two-legged slept smelt similar but she was sick. The hot-beast-without-hot in the case was something to be feared, not talked to in two-legged language. She barked at Master not to follow, begging him to listen like he always did but he could not understand her; though he was remaining where he was; he was unsure of the danger, she could smell it on him.

"Your pup is frightened, child." Dampé muttered halting his steps "Though I am nothing to fear and Flame is tame."

Pippa growled a remark, showing her pearl white teeth. Link chewed his lip and picked up the pup, she struggled in his arms. Link nearly dropped her in a panic. She yapped at him, growling and snarling in a menacing way at him, then she turned on Dampé; bounding forward for the lamp he held. Her paws smashing the glass that shielded Flame from her teeth and claws

"Get her off me!" Flame shouted as Pippa jumped up as he flew out of her reach. She growled at him from below; sitting her backside down to wait for him to flutter down.

Link came over and put a hand on his heart, lowering his head slightly

"No need to apologise. Dogs can sense stuff we can't. Flame must be annoying her somehow." Dampé replied putting a hand on his head "I know you can't speak, but you couldn't have come here unless the water from the well had gone; Li-he made sure that it was full. Perhaps the rocks have fallen and blocked the dam."

Link shrugged but shot him a questionable look.

He had managed to drag Pippa away from Flame, but all the time she never stopped growling. He could feel it in her throat as he carried her; her eyes always watching for the little haze that occupied the lamp. Dampé opened a large stone door at the end of a long corridor, one filled with flames of different colours, greens, pinks and blues were some of the colours that Link noticed while following the incredibly fast man around yet more twisted tunnels. It was a while before they got to a small pedestal with a large stone in the middle and a hole in front of it. Link could hear the drip-drip-drip of water on the floor, though he could not see a thing as Flame had gone in the huff with being chased around by Pippa; Link had sensed she was not playing, more fighting him off for some reason.

"He spent weeks down there; building all these tunnels and circuits so I could li-stay here in peace, but well, it appears the rocks have fallen." Dampé conversed, but Link's gaze was focused on a small blue object that was lighting up the room below; it was no bigger than one of his arrows. With haste the boy jumped down, leaving Pippa above chasing Flame around as he inspected the object.

It was an arrow. A normal wooden arrow with a blue tip.

The fletching of the arrow was feathered with two blue feathers unlike his red feathered ones and made of the strongest wood, so much so that the arrow would not snap over his raised knee. It was the point of the arrow that got all his attention though; the tip was light blue, the colour of ice but made of rock like most arrows; still he had never seen a blue rock before, the tip could be iron or gem of some kind, perhaps some rare fossil had gone into the making of the arrow. But then, he wondered, why was it here? There was no bow to shoot it from and target to shoot it to, Link's eyes fell on his own bow. It would be useless to try such a pretty arrow down here, but where could he shoot it without losing it?

"Don't forget your task, child!" Dampé called down "Li-he, he, left it there in case it was needed. You are a bowman yourself; surely you have seen an arrow like this?"  
Link shook his head and slipped the arrow into his quiver and ran a hand along the slime covered walls, his ear following suit, much to his disgust. Then suddenly, the sound of rushing water, he felt water running down his fingers also; his feet made contact with something on the ground, his boots getting covered in the cobwebs that surrounded it. Flame flew in lighting the room suddenly, Link took a quick glance around; the room had a low ceiling, just touching his head and had puddles of water on the floor that were ankle deep; apart from a cobwebbed hammer at his feet and slimy stone walls, there was nothing else here.

Link huffed and puffed to lift the hammer, nearly falling over backwards with its weight and struck the wall where he could hear the running water. Water began to dribble onto his soaked feet as he raised the hammer again, striking the wall again but in a slightly different spot. The rocks began to crumble and water began to jet out through the dents he had made in the rock. More holes and cracks began to form and spit out water with enough power to take the clothes from his skin.

"Child, get out of there!" Dampé screamed offering a hand to the boy. He lifted him up with more strength that he had predicted. The room below echoed as rocks the size of boulders splashed into the room, flooding the place "Leave! Climb up the slide!"  
Link grabbed Dampé's hand but the man did not move. Link stared at him but he shook his head.

"I can't leave this place. Water won't harm me. But it will to you! Go!" Dampé shouted in his ears pushing him away slightly. Link looked a little disheartened and whistled for Pippa, who ran to her master's feet upon command; the pair dashed away down the tunnel as the water came flooding out of the room "Good luck, child. May the Hero's instinct run through you." Dampé whispered fading away with Flame as water crashed in.

"Link? Where are you?" the girl shouted cupping her hands around her mouth as light began to flood through the tunnels from the well again.

"Are you sure he's in here? It isn't like him to explore." a man with red hair spoke, his stomach hanging over his belt.

"He's in here, listen." the girl said, upon hearing Pippa barking in the distance. Suddenly a strong wind began to blow through the tunnels, strong enough the shift the loose bricks to the far side of the well. Rumbling began; the entire well and tunnel shaking. Then suddenly it stopped with an explosion of blue light.

Link nearly fainted. While dodging the tsunami that was on his heels, he had had the sudden idea to use the blue arrow at the gaining wave.

And it had frozen solid.

He had no idea what had just happened. And by the look of it, neither did Pippa as she pawed the ice block unsurely. Link heard a crack and water began to trickle from it.

Without another moment of haste, he picked up Pippa in one hand and began to run spotting the light from the well on his path he sped up, just as the water caught his heels. He brought Pippa close to his chest and held his breath as the water rose up through the well, climbing the ancient walls to the people surrounding it. Including his red-haired friend who had just climbed out of the well at the wind's restart.

Link flew through the sky on the water jet that pushed him upward and landed on his stomach on the roof of a red tiled house nearby, with a groan his pained body began to roll down the roof and landed with a thump on the grass.

People began to come into view, concerned and amazed at the boy flying out of the well. Link could just feel Pippa on his stomach, snuggling into his neck and his bow digging into his back as he lay on it.

"Are you alright?" Link heard a voice say as the bucket from inside the well landed on his head, causing any sound that was made around him to be muffled by it.

The last thing he heard clearly were the words: _ice arrow._

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On time and ready as always! :D Who remembers Dampe? What happened to him in Ocarina of Time, huh? Speaking of him, what happened to the Hero of Time himself? Dampe seems to have a clue. Did the Hero of Time leave that arrow for this Link, perhaps? We'll have to wait and see.


	4. Light At Night

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter Four - Light At Night

Link let out a groan and rubbed his back through his clothes. He had a long bruise crossing his back from landing on his bow, thankfully he had not broken it; he just needed to repair the ends slightly so they could take the arrows again. But that was the least of his worries.

Link's gaze fell on his left hand, his draw hand; it was wrapped up in plaster. He let out a growl, how was he meant to steal with a broken wrist?!

"Ah, you're awake." a man whispered in the background. Link lay back down on the bed, which was really just a few hay bales and blankets and let out a loud snort to show he was listening. "Don't give me that attitude."

Link rolled his eyes, worry was sick in his head, how would he get medicine? How could he feed his family? They had barely a rupee to their name. The man came over to him, one he recognized as his friend's father.

"Pippa's been scratching at the back door for about half an hour, I didn't want to let her in, in case she went for your wrist." the man informed "Sarah told me you managed to get the water in the well again."

Link nodded but pulled the blankets off his legs, his feet were cold without his boots on. He pointed to his feet and rubbed them with his hands.

"Ah, your boots. Well they're drying by the fire along with the rest of your clothes." Sarah's father muttered throwing Link a thick shawl. Link put it on, hugging his bare arms as he wore his damp undershirt and his shorts. He lowered his head and sat by the fire with Sarah's father, questioning himself why they had brought him here and not home. Link could hear Pippa whining at the door, she could smell Master on the other side. Link stood up from the fire and opened the door to let the grumpy pup skid in.

She was annoyed to be away from Master like that. He had hurt his paw, it was all wrapped up in bedding; she knew better than to chew it. She sat in Master's lap as he sat by the hot-beast and rested her head on his knee, licking his sore paw; Master brushed her fur with his other paw. The he-two-legged said something to Master in two-legged language but she did not understand much; Master just nodded and lowered his furless face down to cuddle her. She liked cuddles, though she was getting a little big to sit on his shoulder now, not to mention heavier.

"Don't you think she should be an outdoor dog?" Sarah's father asked watching Link stroke Pippa. Link shook his head as the pup turned onto her back, offering her stomach to be rubbed.

"It's late now, Link. You seem to be alright now." he muttered, Pippa jerked her head towards him as Link picked her up "Good night, Link."

The door slammed on him as soon as they left. Though Sarah's father was the closest male adult to him at the moment; he was terrified of Pippa after she bit him the first time they met; Pippa had only been with Link a few days then. He sat down on the side of the well to watch the last rays of sunshine vanish behind the strong red mountains. The Gorons lived there, but he had never seen one in person. He gave Pippa a scratch and let his mind wander back to the days where he was without his four legged companion. How lonely life had been for him, all the people he saw every day would only half understand him; barely being able to get contact before anyone saw him, it made job hunting difficult; even in his little village. He had been lucky to find one with old Auru; he ran a small shop in Castle Town, Link had worked there since he was eleven and got discounted bread and milk from him but he could hand over every rupee of his wage and still not be able to pay for both the food and medicine. He had no idea why they were so poor, they never bought much, no new clothes or bedding; though Link had been forbidden to smash pots in the house he decided whenever he found a stray rupee in the grass, he would put it in there. Though he could not explain the reason why his rupee changed colour after a certain amount was put in the pot, but he could easily count it, sometimes he would spend a whole day thrashing around in the grass looking for money but would often find arrows, bombs and even some green pots that made him vomit with the taste.

It was raining the day he had found Pippa. The clouds had covered up the sunrise, Link had just surfaced from jumping over the town walls, soaking wet he had hauled himself up the banks with his bow. The precious bottles and packages he carried were damp in his pockets; but as he rubbed the water from his eyes, did he spot a sack on the river bank, thinking it was food or clothes someone had lost he had opened it, only to get a nasty nip and a growl. He had peered into the sack, inside was a tiny Labrador pup, soaked to the bone and two other puppies besides the one growling at him, the pup nuzzled the adult but got no reaction, the same with the pups. Link's heart nearly broke. Someone had drowned the poor animals, how cruel was that?! Link reached into the sack to pull the puppy out, grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and setting it in his lap. It growled and snarled at him, showing its sharp white teeth, it bit his fingers when he offered food to it. Link sighed then and called his horse over. But as he turned to go, the pup just whined at him. Unsure themself on what to do now. He had picked the pup up and slipped her into an empty pouch on his saddle and rode away with her. Over time, Pippa had got quite close to Link, never leaving his side after a thunderous night, even the roof tiles were flying around in the wind and huge hailstones pounded the ground. Pippa had refused to come indoors but that night made her so frightened; she had wanted her mother, her brother and sister to snuggle with, so she wormed her way in through a little hole in the wall. After spitting out cobwebs and chewing the cupboard door, she had found the sleeping boy in a hay bale bed on the floor. She had pawed at his face to wake him, when he did not wake; she had crawled under the blankets with him, sleeping on his arm. Link had awoken the next morning with a dead arm, but a strong bond with sharing his bed.

Now he could not get her out of it.

He stood up and made a move to leave the place he sat at only to feel the wind brush against his face. Something howled with it, almost in a musical sense. Link turned sharply to see another ice arrow stabbed into the ground, the light from it coloured the grass an eerie blue tinge. He could swear he saw the end of a green sock hat enter through the door to the windmill in the dark, he ran up to it, leaving the arrow in the ground and opened the door wide.

No one.

No one was there, just the gears of the windmill getting back into order to control the water supply again.

Link shuddered and turned to leave; the howling music rang in his ears once more and the wind suddenly blew in his face, pushing him to the ground. Pippa barked at him, putting her paws on his knees in concern. He let out a contented sigh and walked to the steps to the house, picking the arrow up on the way; he opened the door and was pushed over by his sister.

"What do you think you are doing coming in at this hour?! Where have you been?!" Rosie shouted folding her arms; Pippa glanced at Link as if to wince and squeezed through her legs to her bowl. Link hid the arrow behind his back, the hair stood up on his neck with the cold from the tip.

Link tutted and shook his head.

Rosie pointed to the bow and quiver on the kitchen bench "Do you know how worried I was?!"

Link lifted his eyebrows and pushed past her to slip the arrow into the quiver

"Don't ignore me!" Rosie roared slamming the door

"Sarah told you where he was." their mother mumbled pushing the curtain back

"Still! You went to the well to get water for the clothes!" Rosie growled, Link threw his arms into the air and sat down on the rug, playing with a loose tassel. "How can you be so easy on him?!"

Her mother said nothing as Link stuck his tongue out at his sister behind her back, Rosie turned on him, wrapping her arm around his neck. He kept his broken wrist out of her reach as he felt even more weight on his back as Pippa pulled Rosie's hair.

"Stop it, the lot of you!" their mother shouted bashing a fist against the floor, Link widened his eyes and pointed at Rosie

"Don't listen to him, he started it!" Rosie snapped pushing him over

"Well I'm ending it!" their mother grunted leaning back into her pillow "Link, go to bed. Rosie, stay with me for a little while."

They nodded in sync and separated from reaching distance of each other. Link vanished behind a curtain behind the kitchen, being closely followed by his best friend on four legs. Rosie sat by her mother's side, lowering her head as she did so

"Rosie, Auru has allowed you to work at the store with Link when he retires here when you turn sixteen. The store would belong to the pair of you since Link is the only other employee." her mother mumbled, Rosie lifted her head up sharply at the thought

"Mother, you need twenty-four hour care!" Rosie stammered slicing the air with her hand

"I can look after myself." she groaned fiddling with her fingers, Rosie was unconvinced

"Mother, I can't. You're too sick." Rosie answered, pulling her hair.

Link listened to them argue for at least an hour before he dropped to sleep. Pippa stretched out in his arms, cradled within them like a baby; taking the cover off him as the night went on. Link moaned out loud in his sleep, the music he had heard in his head was playing over and over; calling for him.

It was the sound of hissing that awoke Pippa, no, not hissing, laughing, that awoke her. She sniffed her master's face and listened to him whine in his sleep for a moment before spotting a grey light pass by the door, it was a bright one, a bright one like hot-beast. She growled and hopped down from the bed, her nose traveling on the ground for a scent; she could smell the she-two-legged, the one that had barked at Master in the two-legged language and the sick she-two-legged that did not have two-legs, no, that two-legged always lay on hers, her scent could never move far. She crawled under the hanging blanket of Master's den to see the remains of food on the table being inspected by a hot-beast-without-hot.

She was not tall enough to reach the table with her paws…yet.

Instead, she growled at the grey hot-beast-without-hot, it laughed at her and came down to her height, she pounced, snapping her jaws around the hot-beast-without-hot. But like the one she had seen with Master, it just reappeared behind her flying through the hanging blanket towards Master.

Without another thought, she zipped underneath and pounced onto Master's stomach to waken him, just as the hot-beast-without-hot touched his lips, waiting for him to breathe in.

Link woke with a start; he could see Flame hovering in his room and the backside of his best friend. He gave her a shove and sat up, unsure why she was growling

"Your dog is viscous!" Flame shouted, clinging onto a cobweb in the corner of Link's room. Link shook his head and tried to work out what was going on.

He could not.

His head made contact with the pillow again and he turned over, leaving Pippa to chase Flame away.

She crawled back onto Link's bed and lowered her head. It would be back.

She knew it and decided not to sleep till Master woke at dawn.

A few days had past, Link opened the cupboard door and took out the jar of mushroom spores and banged his head on the door for a moment; they only had a day's worth left in the jar. How could he get more with a broken wrist? How could he get more for over a month with a broken wrist?!

He dropped to the floor holding his head and the jar till Pippa put her paws on his feet, barking cheerfully as normal. An idea popped into his head as he stroked her behind the ears; maybe he could use the arrows power without the bow.

As normal, later that morning, Link took the empty bottles they owned and bags and saddled up his mare; Pippa's head sticking out of her little pouch on the saddle as he gripped the reigns with one hand

"Be careful." Rosie spoke, offering him a lunch of an apple and some bread.

Link just sighed in reply.

"I mean it. I still don't know why you take your quiver though you can't use the arrows." Rosie shrugged, Link just shrugged and flicked the reigns, urging his mare to run, run away from her innocent life. As he did so, he pulled his cloak on and brought his hood up, as he did so, he brushed his hair back and placed a strange mask on his face, one that covered his eyes with a beak and dark feathers. The glint of his blue eyes just shone through.

Pippa hated that mask. She wanted to know what it tasted like.

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I'm sleepy today; work has been none stop. What is Link's plan going to be? I'm such a mean author to break his arm aren't I? Why does Pippa hate Flame? OOH! Plot stuff! Yay!

A little more language for you to get on with I think, Pippa's parts are only going to get more complicated. If you haven't worked out what she's talking about, here you go:

Master - Link  
Two-legged - human  
He/she-two-legged - male/female human  
Two-legged-language - human language  
Chewy-paws - shoes or boots  
Feathered dog - birds  
Paws - feet or hands  
Wet - water or liquid  
Hot-beast - fire  
Hot-beast-without-hot - Flame  
Bedding - bandages or cloth on the floor  
Den - home or room

Till next chapter folks.


	5. A Plan Gone Wrong

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter Five - A Plan Gone Wrong 

Link left his horse in the shady areas of the fast flowing river, trusting her enough to not run off till he called her. Pippa on the other hand followed in his footsteps, eager to offer a paw in effort to bring medicine to his mother. Link furrowed his brow, sweat teaming from inside the mask like tears. How was he to explain the situation to a dog that could not understand Hylian? Link let out a sigh and sat by the banks of the river, Pippa leaned up against his side, sensing his unease behind the mask

He lowered his head and took off the mask, his shoulders bounced as more water dripped down his face, tears this time as his head could not make up any ideas. Pippa sat on his knee and licked the tears from his cheeks, her rough pink tongue soaking up the salt from within them. He smiled and stroked her head behind the ears as her pack stopped him from stroking her back. He would think of something.

Darkness soon came, the shadows covering them in the night. As normal, Link passed through the gates of Castle Town just before sunset, hiding Pippa under his thick cloak, his mask covering his face but his hood was around his shoulders. He waited on the roof of the shop aiming to break the lock on the door and snatch only what he needed, greed never even getting a grain in his heart. Pippa had been let out from his cloak and had gone to steal some food from Auru's store, slipping in and out of a little hole she and Link had dug when Auru was sleeping one day for ease.

But there was a problem. There was a guard standing outside the shop door he had planned to enter from, he was not trying the window, yes he was thin enough for someone to use his ribs for a xylophone but he had nearly broken it last time and glass in wounds was painful to run with. He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and pondered to himself, tapping the roof tiles he sat on as he thought with the tip. As he did, the tiles began to feel harder to grip onto; he gasped and tightened his grip on the arrow; it had coated the tiles in a thin layer of ice, perhaps he could use this to his advantage. Taking a sharp breath he touched the tip of the arrow to his forefinger of his bandaged hand; his finger was frozen in an instant, sending the below zero freeze down his finger to his palm, he shivered and wiggled his finger the best he could to let minuscule cracks down the ice; it smashed with a small puff of blue smoke and the crash sound of breaking ice.

Link let out a hoarse laugh and lay down on the tiles, the arrow escaping from his hands and slid down the roof, he reached for it, trying not to make any sound. The guard looked up; Link braced himself for danger but instead his clenched knuckles around the drainpipe felt cold. He slipped his mask on and leaned over to find the guard frozen solid, staring up at him. Link was not sure if he was seeing him or not but took the opportunity.  
He pushed the guard away from the door, listening to his muffled protests; he picked the lock and broke in through the door. Breaking into a half-empty bottle of golden dust to pour them into his bottle.

Then everything happened at once.

The guard broke through his cocoon of ice and grabbed his good arm, one that was still hanging onto the bottle. Link let out a gasp and turned as the hood of his cloak was torn from his back

"So it's you! We finally caught you!" the guard shouted in his ear, Link grimaced and pushed the man off his arm. The guard tightened his grip and laid his spear on the doorframe to reach for Link's mask. Link began to struggle, forcing his broken wrist out from the protection of his cloak "Stay still!" the guard argued bashing him over the back of his head with his truncheon that hung from his belt.

Unbeknownst to the pair, Pippa was raiding the cupboards by climbing up a chair onto the counter; her feet carefully avoiding anything that might give away a footprint. She nuzzled open a cupboard on the floor from the bench and stood on it, she was no cat, so she was off balance as she crept across it. Grabbing a small pack in her mouth and shaking off the empty one on her back to replace it. After rolling around in the rope for a few moments, the pack was loosely tied around her middle; she was literally carrying half a loaf and a bottle of milk with her.

She kept to the dark as she walked to the place where she would normally meet Master but Master was normally here before her, why was he not here? Two-legged were pouring out of their dens, carrying hot-beasts on sticks towards other dens, shouting in their strange two-legged language; she crouched down in the dark, keeping her paws from theirs. A growl past her teeth, they had Master! She ran forward, charging for the nearest leg but Master spotted her and sliced the air with his paw; she darted back into the dark as he lowered his paw, tapping his flank with a small paw,

_Come close, but keep at a distance._ Was the command, she understood and licked the growl from her teeth. Following closely she watched the he-two-legged fight with Master, but his sore paw had let him down as he could not bring his flying claw that he always brought. She clambered onto some sweet smelling wood outside a large den and put her forepaws on the small den entrance, the one that was never entered and exited by the two-legged kind. She watched for her moment to help Master escape.

Link looked upon a tall man that hid behind the candles on the desk, the guards that had struggled with him had sat him down in a small wooden chair that hurt his back; he knew Pippa was around, armed to the teeth with rage for him, but she obeyed his commands without fault. He could trust her to follow and just hope that she was not captured herself. The room he was in was not unfamiliar to him, it was one that he had been to many times, but only by day, without mask or cloak; it was the guard's office, and the tall man behind the desk was Captain of the Castle Guard, Captain Linebeck, a man that often demanded he deliver food to him at his desk during his working hours. Link glared through the eyeholes in his mask as Capt. Linebeck stood up from his seat, wearing as normal, his blue tailcoat and white buttoned shirt that was tanned brown with sweat and stank from his refusal to bathe. His shoes were covered in mud and climbed like Link's, up to his knees where a pair of dark blue trousers, showing off his aristocratic side, were tucked inside. He tipped his hat to show dark hair, almost black but with strong, thick spikes of brown hair in all directions like bed hair, though considering the time, Link thought that to be acceptable.

"Well, my men finally caught you, ruffian. What do you have to say for yourself?" Capt. Linebeck asked leaning over the desk at his masked face. Not like Link could say a word in his defence, he just folded his arms.

"I caught him in the shop, sir!" the guard that had caught him interrupted, squeezing Link's shoulder till it hurt "He was stealing mushroom spores, sir!"

"Was he now?" Capt. Linebeck mumbled putting a hand to his chin "Well, mushroom spores are used in medicine mostly."

Link turned sharp, so much that the Captain noticed. He smirked.

"So I'm right?" Capt. Linebeck asked grabbing Link's chin "You wanted to use the spores as medicine and this is the second time this week."

"He had this on him, sir!" the guard holding him shouted, Link winced, clearly this man had no inside voice. He bit back his complaints as the guard put his ice arrow on the desk, instantly turning the paper aeroplanes the Captain had made on his desk as sharp as darts "It has the ability to freeze any object, sir!"

Capt. Linebeck picked up the arrow, being careful not to touch its tip. He pointed it at Link's face "What is it, boy?"

Link lowered his shoulders and lifted his good hand up to push the arrow away from his face; he did not much care for the freezing of his fingers

"Still not talking?" Capt. Linebeck muttered watching the boy open and close his hand inside the ice cocoon that held it to smash it "Then let me at least have the pleasure to see your face."

That was it! She watched the tall he-two-legged lean over to Master, paw outstretched to take the feathers from his face. She had had enough of watching and listening to them and jumped in through the window latching onto the he-two-legged's paw, her teeth drawing grey liquid. Master jumped in growling under his breath, though she had not done anything wrong, she let go of his paw and settled into Master's. Waiting. That's what they were doing. She wormed her way into his cloak.

Link scratched his back where Pippa sat; her paws over his shoulder, she was getting too big for this.

Capt. Linebeck grasped his bleeding hand, if Link had not have intervened when he did, the pup would have ripped his thumb off.

"This is your mutt?" the Captain snarled, Link pulled up his hood and stood up "Where do you think you are going?"

Link took a step back and hit the guards behind him. Link clenched his good fist and cradled his broken one. He stared through his mask at the captain; a standoff. Link knew he had failed but they had food at least and maybe hope and an idea would help him steal the medicine tomorrow. But was it worth the risk? He felt Pippa squirm impatiently on his shoulder, her nose kept pointing to the barred window behind them. It was a long shot and he had not perfected his roll yet but what choice did he have? Taking a breath he gave a quick salute to Capt. Linebeck and taking a short run he slipped through the bars on the window and ducked into a roll on the cobblestone, running was all he could think about.

He dived into the moat and let it carry him down while arrows and other hard objects were thrown in by the townspeople, yet fate had other plans and spat him out in the wrong direction.

This night could not get any worse.

He was in Royal's Garden!

Link hid himself in the shadows of the huge stone walls, crossing his legs and letting Pippa sit by them, nuzzling into his chest with a whine. A bead of water pattered onto her nose, one that she blinked at.

The bushes started to rustle suddenly as a body came backwards through them, tripping over his legs with a hushed growl. Link touched his right cheek, his hand being coated in his blood. He would have said 'ow' if it were possible.

"Who are you?! How did you get in here?!" the person snarled twisting a dagger in their hands. Link sat there staring, one hand to his cheek, the other holding Pippa back.

"Answer me!" the person hissed, their voice high and feminine. Link wrinkled his nose; the smell of her flowery perfume was enough for anyone to notice her. Without haste, he lowered his head, bowing in respect. "You worked it out?" the girl mumbled "Are you a Sheikah?"

Link shook his head as the girl sat down next to him. She looked about as sad as him.

"Why don't you speak?" the girl asked glancing at him, bringing her arms over her raised knees. It was too dark to see what she was wearing fully but he could work out that a dark, if not black skirt was covering those legs.

Link tapped his throat, keeping eye contact with her all the time; his sea blue eyes were staring into the girls soul as if searching for answers. The girl put a hand to her mouth and thumped him hard on the back that made him gasp

"I've never heard of someone with mutism!" the girl gasped, her voice getting rather loud. Link shrank further into the shadows as lights began to flicker from inside the walls of the castle. The girl turned silent as the night and crept backwards, grabbing his hand as she did so. "I have a hideout, we-I can talk to you there."

The girl pushed a stone with her free hand, her left hand, to force the wall to turn violently on an unknown hinge, spitting them out inside the dark halls of the castle.  
"Come on, this way!" the girl whispered recovering quickly. Link shot her a questionable glance and stood up, placing Pippa on the floor and tapping his left hip with his full hand. Pippa kept close to his heel as they followed the strange girl, one that moved with much more silence than he did.

"Shh!" the girl hissed slamming a hand into his face to push him into the wall, hiding him behind a flag hanging from a huge hook above them. The flag was a beautiful red with three yellow triangles in the centre; as simple as the design was, Link could not help but admire it for some odd reason. It was something so simple that it could not be thought of in normal society.

The wall they leaned on turned, pushing them into a tunnel with a downward slope that Link rolled down, grunting as his injured wrist took all his weight. He came to a stop at the end of the slope, groaning into the grey brick floor. Pippa stood on his back licking the back of his left ear with concern.

"Don't worry about it, it happened to me when I first found this place." the girl  
sniggered lighting a small candle that was on a desk in the corner of the room. Link raised his head and lowered his shoulders, staring at the girl who had attacked and bewildered him.

She let out a sigh and held out a hand to help him up. He took it with his good hand, forcing yet another standoff between two pairs of eyes.

Link could only marvel at the beauty she carried behind the mask, one that looked makeshift and hurried; hid two stone cold eyes that held warmth in them, a certain softness that he could appreciate. Cascading from behind the mask was a few strands of wine coloured hair; the rest was hidden under the grey bandages, the rest of her body had been hidden in a similar fashion. Her dress was one to light and simple for one of royalty yet suited her perfectly; a grey dress with a rip in the middle to show her legs were covered in bandages and black tights and simple shoes; ankle boots. The chest of her dress had a great red eye in the centre, one that could have won the staring competition with ease; but a blood tear ran down it. This confused him. She carried only a dagger in a scabbard on her hip, everything else was hidden.

The boy was good at holding his gaze, behind a feathery mask she could just see the sad blue eyes watching her through the slits; he was of a good build but carried no weapons except for a quiver on his hip under his cloak one that was hiding his weakness, a broken wrist. But the company he had was strange too; a little chocolate Labrador, no older that five months; possibly even three months, pushing it. They kept to the same code of silence but she could see that glare on the pup's face, she respected and protected the ground he walked on.

The girl cleared her throat "If I remove my mask, will you take off yours?"

Link jumped back a few places and brought a hand up, stroking the feathers with his fingers. The girl let out a shallow sigh and unraveled the bandages from around her face to show a pale face with soft pink lips and a pointed nose, her hair fell down past her shoulders, still tied up in its bobble. Link twisted his face and cupped his hands to his chest

The girl did not get the message at first and then she clicked "I won't tell anyone!"

Link's hands shook as he removed his protection from his face, drawing back his hood as he did so. The girl let out a gasp and began to circle him like a vulture; he swallowed hard and turned to face her. The girl put a hand to her chin and wore a smirk that scared him, one that even made Pippa tuck her tail between her legs. He raised an eyebrow and threw his arms out

"Oh, nothing." the girl giggled taking his good hand and shook it once "My name is Princess Zelda."

Link fell backwards, narrowly falling on Pippa,

Zelda giggled "Shocked?"

Link nodded and lowered his head,

Zelda let another giggle escape. "So what is your name?"

Link opened his mouth but shut it again. Zelda showed the same forlorn look. "We are going to have a few problems here."

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I am SO sorry, guys. I honestly didn't know that it had not uploaded the chapter, I've tired like three times just now.

I don't know what would be going through my mind in this situation; I think I would have wet myself sitting in the police office and done worse with Monarchs. However, the Princess has better things to do that rat out a kind thief. This Zelda seems bold, doesn't she? Taking in a stranger without as much as a 'hello'.

A little more language for you to get on with I think, Pippa's parts are only going to get more complicated. If you haven't worked out what she's talking about, here you go: Also, bear in mind, that as far as I'm aware, Pippa can't see colours, only blacks, whites and greys.

Master - Link  
Two-legged - human  
He/she-two-legged - male/female human  
Two-legged-language - human language  
Chewy-paws - shoes or boots  
Feathered dog - birds  
Paws - feet or hands  
Small paw - fingers or toes  
Wet - water or liquid  
Hot-beast - fire  
Hot-beast-without-hot - Flame  
Bedding - bandages or cloth on the floor  
Den - home or room  
Flying claw - bows and arrows  
Small den entrance - window  
Sweet smelling wood - boxes of food


	6. Zelda

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter Six - Zelda

Zelda paced back and forth for a while; so much so that Link and Pippa just sat there watching, trying not to get dizzy. Pippa let out a sigh and lay her head on Link's lap, not letting Zelda anywhere near him after she had sliced his cheek. She eventually stopped pacing and sat down, looking into his eyes before offering him a vial of red potion.

"So, have you been mute since you were born?" she asked dabbing the wound with a bandage from her disguise. Link winced but nodded in reply. Zelda kept her eyes on Pippa, though the pup had not even growled a warning, she could tell she was either very protective or overly jealous, perhaps both. Link let out a quiet gasp as her fingers stung and slapped a hand into dust covering the walls; his hand print was left there.

They glanced at each other thoughtfully. Then smiled.

"So what is your name?" Zelda questioned, Link's left hand went up to the wall first but then he lowered it and looked unsurely at his right hand.

"You're left handed, huh?" Zelda smirked giving him a light punch on the shoulder; he nodded and wrote on the wall with a finger, said finger being covered in grime and dust that caked the walls.

_Link_

"It's a bit of an unusual name, isn't it?" she giggled, but he frowned "Take a joke, Link."

_How old are you?_

Zelda smiled "I'm fifteen, you?"

Link nodded and pointed a finger at her. Zelda nodded back to him

_This is Pippa. She's about 3 months old._

Zelda reached forward to stroke the pup but she backed off with a low growl, Link tutted at her.

Zelda watched with admiration as the silent bond between man and canine was stronger than granite, though Master was always to be obeyed. She could not help but feel some sort of protection with the silent boy, just as Pippa did; but she was the one who secretly protected him from both the things that a person could see and the things he could not. Bad intentions being one of them. Though she did not mean any harm to them, Zelda knew that the pup would not hesitate to bite if she struck him again; it was Link who had stopped her the first time.

They communicated for some time, Zelda's questioning was starting to get on Link's nerves; he had never met anyone this chatty and his fingers were getting itchy with the dust, he wondered when the girl would tire. Pippa started to whimper beside him, she was bored and even though Link had taken the food from her back, she was tired. Zelda spotted this too.

"It will be light soon. I'll help you get you into town. After that, you are on your own." Zelda spoke, her voice turning serious. Link stood up but looked at his feet. "What's wrong?"

Zelda studied every depressive line in his face as he put his mask back on and tightened his quiver around his hip. Link had trusted her enough to tell her the full story, why he was captured by the captain, why he carried arrows but no bow, to why he had to steal to feed his family. Zelda knew it was no sob story and tilted Link's head up to face her.  
"You can't bear to think what would happen to your family if you weren't there. You don't want to lose anyone. I will give you some spores, wait here."

Zelda was gone before he had time to even gasp in surprise. Pippa looked at him as if to shrug. Zelda returned with two unscratched bottles of the golden spores that Link needed in a small bag and attached it to his back, hooking his arms through the straps. "There is two weeks' worth in that bag. I will give you more when you need it." Zelda whispered pulling the hood of his cape up and closing his gaping mouth. Without warning, Link wrapped his arms around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly to his chest, much to the annoyance of Pippa. Zelda put her arms on his shoulders and sat her head on his chest, hearing his warm, happy heartbeat. Something that she had never really heard. Link gave her a questioning glance, one that even she could read clearly as it was coming from Pippa too.

"You hug pretty tightly." Zelda giggled when Link let go "But it's nice, most people just shake my hand or bow repeatedly."

Link looked in Pippa's direction, hearing her claws scrape against the stone they had come through.

"Right, this way!" Zelda hissed taking his good hand and pulling him out of the candle light to a small tunnel that was filled with water; Link whistled for Pippa and leaned down as she jumped into his arms. To be honest, he was sick of getting wet now.

Zelda went first, gripping onto the bricks above the slide, just do her head was showing. She covered her face with some bandages and disappeared from his sight down the tunnel.  
Link lay on his back and with some difficulty, settled Pippa lying down on his chest, her head facing him, she wanted the night to just end too. He could tell. He let go and slid down after her the twisting tunnels of the water slide brought them out beyond even the catacombs of the castle, deep underground to the rat filled sewers below, the water current dragged him and Pippa downstream, thumping them against brick floors and walls without much control. But then the current evened out, the water slowed down as an ice arrow from the quiver scrapped across the surface, extending a trail of ice across the sewer water and colouring it a soft white with little patches of yellow dotted around it, it would be a winter wonderland if a few snowflakes would fall. Skidding with a bit more control by digging the small blades in his shoes downward, Link came to a sudden halt by a thick stone wall with thick bars that clanged when he hit them. Zelda was waiting for him at the side, drying her hair by squeezing it.

"You are just full of surprises aren't you?" she giggled offering a hand to him but gasped when she saw the blue glow in his quiver, he held it out to show her. "This is an ice arrow. It's filled with magic, the stone proves it. Where did you get this?"

Link shrugged, not wanting to disclose that information just now. But then a thought stuck him, he had left his arrow with the captain, how did he have another?

"A man Mother used to know had arrows like that." Zelda shrugged lifting her arms up as Pippa shook herself, lolling her tongue over her lips as she did so. She handed the arrow back to Link who stuffed it in his quiver. "I didn't know it was that powerful, I thought it only worked when you shot it."

Link shrugged.

Zelda glanced up at a grate above them, the morning sunrays had not shone down it yet, but the sky was not dark anymore; no, it was a yellowy red. Something that Link would normally be seeing outside the walls. She stood on his shoulders to push the grate up, groaning with effort as the grate was rusted tight. Something tapped her leg. She glanced down to see him holding up a red feather arrow in his good hand, otherwise, he was perfectly balanced, his eyes shut and his body still as stone no matter how long she stood. She took the arrow and scraped off the orange metal that kept the grate stuck solid to the bricks; they came off in flakes like confetti.

"Take my hand." she whispered clambering through the space and offering her outstretched arm out to him. She should have guessed, the pup came first. Link had debated about throwing his friend up, but she was too big for Zelda to hold onto with him too. She was growing every day.

After a decent struggle, the pair sat on the cobblestone. Both in silence; Link had taken his mask off and hidden it safely in his quiver, along with the packs of food Pippa had stolen. He smiled at her, a smile that would mean thank you beyond number's reach and held out his hand to shake. Zelda smirked and shook it.

"Tonight was nice." Zelda whispered standing up after hearing the drawbridge chains rattle nearby "I'll see you next time you need spores."

Link turned his head sharply, reminding her silently that he was not a charity case. Zelda said nothing and jumped down into the sewers.

"Be safe, Link. See you in two weeks right here." her call came, Link dashed off with Pippa at his listened to him go and leaned against the wall. Still holding his arrow. She raised her head to shout but knew he would be long gone now. She brought it up to her chest and hugged it.

She had a friend.

"Milady, it is time to rise." a voice shouted, Zelda closed the window she had crawled though. That was getting closer and closer every time. The sun was peeking through the arch shaped windows that were frosted with design, being blazed by the sun was a giant bed that was covered in pink pillows and purple sheets, the floor was covered in rugs, ones that were slipping under the wooden draws that housed bottles of perfume and were decorated with lace. A wardrobe stood in the corner, one of its doors open to who desired it, showing dresses that practically ate all the space around them.  
A round woman came through the door dressed in a light brown dress and white apron with a slight frill on the ends. She had a bright red face and puffy cheeks like a chipmunk; her mousy brown hair was cut short and tied up behind a brown sheet, yet as normal, a small tuft could be seen from underneath, it would bounce when she ran.

"Good morning, Leanne." Zelda yawned hiding the arrow behind her back

"How is Milady this morning?" Leanne asked shutting the wooden door behind her, panting slightly from climbing the stairs.

"I'm most good." Zelda whispered nodding her head

"Milady, what have you there?" Leanne asked watching Zelda eye the gap between the curtains of her bed. Zelda glanced up suddenly and leaned against the wall, housing Link's arrow between her and it.

"Nothing." Zelda remarked holding her hands out, still covered in bandages.

Leanne folded her arms "Her Majesty doesn't instruct me to watch you for naught, Milady."

"This is all for naught." Zelda grumbled feeling the sharp tip of the arrow graze her skin "I was just looking out the window."

"Milady, with respect, I can see the feathers. That isn't a guard's arrow. I'm married to one." Leanne chuckled "Come on, now."

Zelda lowered her head and moved away to let the arrow fall, almost with an echoing clatter on the stone floor, Leanne made a move to pick it up but Zelda grabbed it first, hugging it to her chest

"I know who it belongs too and I will return it myself, I tried but I missed them." Zelda coughed, Leanne sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingers

"Milady; that is a handcrafted arrow from outside these walls. The feathers on the end are those of a myth. I'm surprised you found them." Leanne smirked; Zelda looked curiously at the arrow "A little food for thought."

"Do you refer to the Myth of the Great Birds?" Zelda asked touching the tip of the arrow to her cheek

"Clever girl, but those feathers are fake, mocking the Great Firebird, if they were real; the arrow would be on fire." Leanne spoke lifting a finger; she saw Zelda's face change.

"Excuse me." Zelda whispered dashing out of the room and running down the stairs.

Zelda charged down the red-carpeted halls, very un-princess-like and crashed into a door that was locked tight. She looked at the arrow and without hesitation, stabbed the arrow into the key hole and twisted it. The door opened slowly with a creak.

Inside the room was a library, one that was piled with books, even ones disappearing from her sight into the line of dust that glided across the room, she could swear clouds came in sometimes through the open windows. The books themselves held many stories and legends; some were even old diaries and history books, with some atlases of the known world still being completed by adventurers and teachers. One adventurer that had spent some time here was a man clothed in green; he would sit in the same spot by the window drawing elaborate and complicated maps of both the gentlest towns and the harshest terrains like the Gerudo Desert. Sometimes the man would come and add detail to the maps, signing them in the corners with a date and a little message. The last time she had seen him though was when she was still toddling.

She pulled out an atlas from the shelves with a tug; the man had wedged it in good and tight so when she opened it, it spat dust in her face. But after flicking through the pages, she found his last map, but there was something odd about it. It was a map of the full world on a sphere, but that was strange, the world was flat, Teacher had said so. Yet it made so much sense as no one had ever fallen off the edge of a map.

He had signed it as normal but there were two pointed mountains and one deep trench of this map, no labelled marks like the others. It was his only incomplete map. She recognised one huge mountain belonging to the proud rock people, and the gorge being covered in the deepest water of the fish people, but the third she had never seen before. Where was that? It led off from the woods somewhere, home to the ageless children.  
Without another thought she clambered up some shelves nearby and pulled a smaller, yet thicker book that nearly pulled her down from the shelves.

The title: _Anatomy of Arrows._

She threw it on the floor and shimmied along the shelf, her hands acting like dusters as she crossed, till she halted at another book, almost a leaflet in width but the writing was so tiny and wrote in a way that none could read, the only thing that told her she was correct was the fact it had birds on it. Zelda squinted at the writing, recognising the hand to be the same in the maps. She shrugged and jumped down to compare the writing with the one in the maps just to be sure, though the map artist's hand had gradually gotten better over time, she knew it was unmistakeably his; he wrote in _italics._ Showing he was left handed.

She heard footsteps outside and slammed all the books shut so they coughed more dust and saw on the side of the book when all the pages were together was a picture of three feathers, similar to that of the arrow she had. But also three letters or more initials underneath.

_B.O.M._

What did that mean?

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well that went well. Link has a friend that could rid him of both his guilt and his criminal record, but it also seems that Link's arrows are a little more special than thought, huh? But the plot finally thickens! Actually, come to think of it, who drew those maps...?


	7. Chapter Seven - Harsh Words, Harsh Truth

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter Seven - Harsh Words, Harsh Truths

Link threw the blankets over his face, leaving Pippa sitting rather confused at the side. He just wanted to forget about today, forget about meeting the monarch, forget about the spores; forget about illness, just everyone to leave him alone. Not only had he stolen from the shop and been caught, he had bumped into the princess. Oh, good grief!

But then again…not many could say they had met the princess without invitation and 'spoken' to her without guards or the snobbish tone from the nobles. Perhaps he would see her again.

Link smiled and lifted his head out from under the blankets; Pippa licked his cut on his cheek and wagged her tail playfully. He could not forget her assistance last night. He would not have met his new friend if it were not for her. Pippa nuzzled into his neck, rubbing her flank against his shoulder before lying next to him, Link wrapped his arm around her and stroked her head behind the ears till he felt her tail thump against his hip as she stretched out. She yawned, and lay her head between her paws, but remained awake.

He snuggled down in the blankets and lay against the pillows; Pippa shut her sleepy eyes as did he. And both fell into a sound sleep, one that could not be stirred.

It was nightfall before they awoke; Rosie was shaking his shoulders. Her long hair tied up in a bun for bed

"Link, get up!" she wailed gripping his shoulders till her nails dug into his skin, Link groaned and rubbed his eyes, looking at her under his crusty, sleep covered eyelids. "They took Mother outside, she'll infect the town!"

Link's eyes shot open straight away and he threw his blanket off onto Pippa who had not quite woken up yet as the children rushed outside, the town was gathering up by the well to a man on a black horse with deep brown eyes. Link let out a snarl and shut the door behind Rosie.

Trouble. With a capital 'C'

Captain Linebeck was sitting on a finely crafted leather saddle, with matching red reins that the horse chewed on. The town were crowded around him, murmurs of confusion and irritation were hanging in the air, Link slowed down and looked at his clothes and pulled off his shirt, turning it inside out and slipping it around his stomach, kicked off his shoes and threw his mask into an open window, he did not dare be spotted with it. The captain knew him as a silent shop hand, no more.

Rosie was fuming. Absolutely _shaking_ with rage; her fists were glued to her sides but Link could see at any moment she was going to go for the captain, pushing him off his horse if necessary. He put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently, telling her to stay put.

Capt. Linebeck blew a whistle to order for silence, the angry citizens glared at him. "The mysterious illness has struck here, the demand for mushroom spores has never been higher, for it has reached all sides of this world." he began, lifting his arms up "We have been asked to locate the one who has been stealing the spores for years and we have evidence that brings him to one of your people."

Outrage rang in the crowd, some of the men shook their fists, punching the air like it were an enemy. Rosie glanced at Link, he had gone stiff, but his face remained stern, did he know something about the thief and would not or could not tell for one reason or another?

"We will be searching homes for clues then you may return to your lives. Co-operate and no one shall be harmed!" Capt. Linebeck muttered flapping his hands to order his yes-men to search the houses and buildings. Link and Rosie tore through the ground to where their sick mother lay. She looked worse than before now that she had been moved, she could barely talk.

"Go back to your house." a man in a tin hat ordered shooing them away

Rosie snapped "This is my mother, look at her, she's very sick!"

"It-It's alright…R-Rosie, head back home with…your b-brother." her mother whispered clutching her hands. Rosie did not move. Link stood back as Rosie punched the man in the face, leaving him a bruised nose.

"What's going on here?!" Capt. Linebeck snarled grabbing Rosie's bun in his hand and pulled her up so she let out a squeal

"You-ah! You're a monster!" Rosie screamed as he lifted her off the ground with her hair alone "Look what you-ah! did to my mother!"

Link intervened; bringing her down to the ground, giving the captain a cat-eye glare as he did so.

"Sir, we found this!" a man with a torch grunted holding up Link's hawk-mask. Link made an audible gulp. Rosie opened her mouth but he squeezed her shoulder to warn her from her remark. That was Link's mask. Did he have something to do with this?

"Where?" Capt. Linebeck asked trotting his horse towards the man with the torch. Link's mouth turned dry as Sarah's family was shooed into their house. He felt a pang of guilt "Are they harbouring the fugitive?"

"No, Sir!" the man with the torch spoke, saluting as he did so. "The men of the house do not fit his credentials and there were no secret rooms found, Sir!"

A cruel smile crossed Capt. Linebeck's face "Burn it, these people are to be made examples of."

Link made a move to act, but Rosie held her arm out. He recovered his stern face with a gulp.

Capt. Linebeck jumped down from his horse and snatched the torch from the man's hand, raising it high to the soaked straw and wood that had been thrown in haste; a few shirts and aprons had been taken from the people and thrown on for good measure; the door had been sealed shut. He lowered the torch to the straw, setting it alight within seconds.

Link heard Sarah scream from inside along with the rest of her family as black smoke erupted from the windows. Link threw his sister's arm back and dived through a smoke filled window, keeping himself low to avoid the ashes and smoke entering his lungs.  
He put a hand on Sarah's shoulder

"Link!" she wailed hugging him, he took her hand and with a cough pushed her out of the window so that she rolled onto the grass. His soundless throat tickled with the smoke as he pushed Sarah's mother out of the same window before turning to her father. The men worked together to push a beam down on the window to smash it down to let them escape.

But as Link jumped out, his left trouser leg on fire; his bad arm was seized by a guard. Capt. Linebeck had a smug grin on his face. Link made fists. It had been a trap.

"I knew a kind soul like you would not hesitate to save your friends. And you are the only family here that is in need for the spores." Capt. Linebeck chuckled rubbing a bandage on his arm where Pippa had sunk her teeth into. "But, let's see for sure, put the mask on him."

Link began to struggle as the man with the tin hat marched over and placed the hawk mask on his face. Capt. Linebeck turned his horse around.

"We have him gentlemen. Let's bring him to justice." Capt. Linebeck muttered, Link wrapped his hand around his neck. The chopping block.

"You will not touch my son!" a female voice shouted from a house, an elderly woman stood up at the door, leaning on the post "He was only doing right by his family!"

"He still broke the law." Capt. Linebeck snarled spotting the feeble woman. She was keeping Pippa hidden behind her back, no matter how much she whined and howled for her master.

"I won't have you taking my son away, he's only fifteen!" his mother growled, reaching such a volume that the guards shook in their boots. The captain merely scoffed and led Link away; much to the complaint of the townspeople. Some even making a grab for the guards that led him away, yet, Capt. Linebeck made no move to stop them trying to grab their silent neighbour; knowing he had won.

"Mother, don't worry. I'm sure there's been some sort of mistake." Rosie grumbled as her mother wrote on a piece of paper, the clouds were thundering overhead. Still, she had seen that look when the mask had been found, it could not be true. Thank goodness they had not found hers.

"There is no mistake." her mother groaned, her eyes squeezing shut in pain from standing up

"What?! You knew?!" Rosie shouted throwing her arms down, nearly karate chopping Pippa who lay next to her, pining for Link.

"Go have a look in Link's pocket money pot. How much is in there?" her mother asked, pointing a shaking hand to a little pot in the corner of the kitchen, one that was dusty red with a white chalky line going across the top for design.

Rosie looked in, only to hear Pippa snarl at her for glancing in. "There's twenty rupees in there."

"Right, how much does Link earn a week?"

"Um, 200 rupees?"

"Yes, now who pays for the house?"

"Link."

"Exactly. Once the tax man has been at him; that leaves 150 rupees for the house. Now let's talk about food, shall we?"

"Mother-"

"No. You will listen. Milk costs around 100 rupees a bottle, bread, twenty rupees for half a loaf, spores; 100 rupees a bottle. That equals to 220 rupees."

"Mother, please-"

"No, listen! Link can either pay for the house or can get us food with his wage. He can't do both and there is no money left for clothes, house repairs or even a luxury. Link is forced to steal for us. It is either be homeless, sick or starved."

Rosie lowered her head and sighed as her mother rolled up the paper she made and ripped a little of the curtain that shielded her from outside. She patted her left hip for Pippa to come over and tied both the paper and the curtain piece around Pippa's neck like a collar.

Pippa scratched it with a paw, the rag was itchy on her fur and the crinkly-rag that was damp was slipped inside; she wined as it would not come loose. The sick-she-two-legged patted her on the head softly to tell her to stop, the she-two-legged and Master were very similar to each other, giving her the same straight commands instead of confusing ones. The sick-she-two-legged tickled her belly for a moment before lifting a finger to her face, she put a paw on her chest rubbing the rags she wore on her furless body. She wished she could take her fur off.

_Find Master._ was the command.

Pippa raced outside through the little hole in the den and brought her nose to the grass, picking up the scent of the hoofed kind the bad-he-two-legged had rode away on. She could smell him. She followed the scent, keeping her nose to the ground; she unknowingly left the little town behind.

Zelda ate her meal in silence, listening to the bowls clatter under spoons of the royals around her. How she loathed the awkwardness of a silent meal time, but could never find the words to address her parents or indeed the young man next to her. Prince Cole. The prince was a young man of nineteen, one that would drink Zora coffee in a china teacup with his little finger sticking out or eat Deku seed cake with a knife and fork. He was meant to be a snob, always seeming looking down on people but never did, he never badmouthed them, in fact, behind the cape and fancy shoes was a kind young man who would hold a door open for a lady. Cole had light brown hair that was very close to orange in colour and a small green top hat with a yellow buckle, he was short for nineteen but was a keen fencer and always had his glasses in a pocket in his red jacket or green trousers for he was one that would be covered in dust from the library every day from reading old articles. She was certain he could read minds sometimes, or maybe, just was good at reading faces.

"The soup is quite tasteful." he mumbled placing wiping his mouth on a napkin

"Worth the vegetables that went into it." Zelda spoke not looking up from her bowl

"Warms the heart on a cold morning." Cole mumbled as a servant placed a newspaper on the table next to him from a silver tray. Cole's right hand man was a tall noble, an aristocrat who would often ride with him through the fields on horseback. A thrill only for a prince. "Thank you, Carstairs."

"You're welcome, sir." the noble spoke leaving the room. Cole opened the newspaper to the headlines and shot Zelda a concerned glance, angling the paper for her to see.

**_SPORE THIEF BROUGHT TO JUSTICE!_** shouted the page, showing a grimy pictograph of Link next to the weapon that had ended many lives to early. The axe and the chopping block. Zelda's face went very pale and her throat went dry.

"He's the boy you told me about, right?" Cole whispered skimming through the article. Zelda nodded

"They're going to take his head at sunset. You better do something, soon."

"I doomed my friend." Zelda whimpered getting a glance from the blond haired woman at the end of the table

"Don't wish for it!" Cole hissed, Zelda gripped the arms of the chair

"I'm going to need your help to get him out." Zelda whispered, Cole nodded.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Captain Linebeck! How could you?! Link's mother has a point doesn't she, she understands the situation that Link is put in with having to pay for everything, it is Rosie who forgets. A little role reversal there, Zelda going to save Link, that's new! And introducing Cole, Zelda's older brother.


	8. Purple

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter Eight - Purple

The cell was dusty and dark with a window that looked out to the feet of people; some threw tomatoes and other rotten food at his face, while some kicked the bars with their boots. Men spat at the ground, letting the drool flow down the sill so Link sat away from the walls, he also learned to stay away from the doors too. He could just see Captain Linebeck enjoying the fresh taste of white wine, the bottle was almost empty and he could see him staring at him. Before Link did not even think of dodging the bottle when it flew through the bars of his cell and crashed into his good arm, crossing it with cuts. Link turned his back on him and crossed his legs. He was not giving the captain any kind of  
acknowledgment.

"Don't-Don't ignore-hiccup-me!" Capt. Linebeck shouted banging a fist against his desk; Link covered his bleeding arm with his bad hand and looked out to the feet that passed his window, but something looked back at him, tongue lolling over their teeth. Link held his arms out and braced himself for doggy kisses; her tail thumping against his arms till it was almost a blur. His fingers touched the paper that was stuffed in a makeshift collar and opened it, much to the snort of relief from Pippa.

_Link,  
You mustn't give up. I know your heart is good and you only risked your life for us. Whatever you do, take care of yourself; don't come back to Kakariko unless you have to, not even for bringing us food or spores. Please save yourself. Pippa will always be there for you.  
With love and sorrow,  
Mother. _

Link put the paper up to his chest and hugged it, did Mother know what the chopping block meant? He was not going to come back from this. If he had a choice, he would try to escape, but he had no way, the bars were locked tight and one arm was out of order. He did not have his quiver, all he had was…

Link smiled and sat Pippa down on the floor, he tapped his right hip with three fingers rubbed the right of his chest with a fist. Pippa growled, but he sliced the air with his hand to stop her.

_Find a close friend._ was the command. He knew Pippa was not keen on who he was sending her to but she would do it for him. Hopefully. She could get really jealous.  
With a groan he lifted her up to the window and pushed her through the bars much to her snarling, but thankfully she ran off in the direction of the castle. Even if she did not get to Zelda, she would be safe at least.

Zelda paced in the gardens, she was worried, Cole had been gone for a couple of hours and the sun was already high in the sky. They were running out of time, she hoped that complimentary bottle of wine had dulled Capt. Linebeck's senses enough so Link could get out, but Cole had ran off with another plan. She sat down on a stone bench by the walls leaning back against the stone with a sigh. The soil shifted underneath the bench, followed by the quick panting breath of a puppy.

"Pippa!" Zelda shouted looking under the bench to see the frown she was greeted with a few nights ago. "Where's Link?"

Pippa cocked her head to the side for a moment, what was this she-two-legged on about? She could not understand their language. Master had told her to go seek a close friend and this one was the closest by smell. She knew the way through the fast-wet but digging was easier when you do not have Master leading you. She plonked her backside down on the grass and whined, lifting her ears up to show concern.

"What's wrong?" Zelda asked as Cole came into view

"Zelda, I got everything worked out." Cole spoke pulling out two autumn orange robes out of a pouch on his hip.

"Explain?" Zelda asked folding her arms and twisting her face, Pippa made a similar facial expression by lowering an ear and tilting her head

"Link can wear the mask of a Training Sage. It is against the law to remove it without permission, if he keeps his head low, he won't get caught, I'll dress up in the other robe and lead him out." Cole squealed "Then, he can hide in the Temple of Time with the other Training Sages till the heat dies down."

"Nice plan, but how do we get two people in and three out?" Zelda asked, Pippa tugged at her dress, urgently whining in her direction.

"This must be his pup you were talking about. She's getting worried for him." Cole said lowering down to her height and offering her a piece of white meat that changed her whole demeanour. He stroked her behind the ears as she swallowed the meat, licking her lips as she finished it off. "You want to come?"

"Of course, he knows me!" Zelda shouted, so loud that every guard in the area glanced in her direction "He may not trust you if you walked in."

"Why not we dress a plank of wood in the robe?" Cole suggested with a shrug

"It'll look a bit thin. Why not a sparing dummy? It's got a bit more of a human figure."  
Zelda contradicted pointing to a broken dummy in the corner; the straw of its insides was being blown in the breeze. The pair nodded and dashed off to the dummy, dressing it up in the robe and pulling the hood up. Cole dressed up in the other

"Wait. How do we get it to move?" Cole mumbled, his voice muffled by the mask he wore under the hood. Zelda put a hand on her chin. The dummy suddenly moved a few inches. Cole and Zelda let out a frightened gasp till they saw a tail sticking out from underneath the cloth of the robe. Somehow, Pippa was pushing the sticks the dummy stood on with her shoulders, though her progress was slow and a bit unsteady, the dummy was seemingly moving on its own.

"Well that answers that question." Zelda mumbled as the dummy fell over on its front. "But makes a few more."

Link winced as he picked the glass out of his arm, the tiny, almost microscopic shards were stuck in the wounds, he glanced out of the window, the sun was starting to meet the horizon and a crowd was gathering in the plaza, waiting his head to fall into the wicker basket at the bottom. In truth, he was terrified but did not want to give the captain the joy of seeing him shake in his boots, though his stomach was doing flips and the hair on the back of his neck was standing on end, he would not show fear. He would be brave when facing death. Perhaps by some lucky strike, someone would save him.

"We are here to give the thief his last rights." a male voice came from around the corner "My friend has given to a vow of silence. He will not speak to anyone."

Link rolled his eyes; people did not know the meaning of silence till they had lived his life for a few days. It could be tough getting a conversation started.  
Three bodies entered the cell he sat in. One knelt down and removed his hood, Link flinched at the sight of the white mask that covered his face; his hair was hidden from him but he could just see a few orange curls at the ears; a pair of blue eyes stared at him, part of the eyes themselves were covered by a large, dinner plate sized golden disk which was meant to be the iris of the mask as it was a great eye, complete with markings for an eyebrow. Apart from a chunk taken away for a mouth hole, the rest was fully solid.

"We don't have much time." Zelda whined from behind the kneeling man, Link smiled at her and nodded in appreciation for coming; though she was not dressed up in the same clothes as the other person.

"Link, is it? My name's Cole, I'm here to help. Just follow me and keep your head down at all times." Cole spoke in a harsh whisper as the second robe covered body turned out to be a few pieces of battered wood and a tired puppy. Link was quick to take the disguise, slipping a spare mask over his face; Zelda pulled the hood up and rearranged his hair to the point where he had to pull away.

He gave her a confused look, which Zelda flinched at. No, no, that was a trick with the light, it had to be. His eyes-

"Zelda!" Cole hissed picking Pippa up and pushing her through the window. Link lifted both hands up, tapping his shoulders with the backs of them

_Stay._ was the command.

Pippa sat down on the cobbles as a sign as she would wait.

"Come on." Zelda whispered hiding the dummy in the corner with Link's shirt on. Link sneezed and cuddled his shoulders under the robe.

They passed through entrance of the office without a problem, but Zelda knew Link was very uneasy, she did not know why, but there was something really off about his personality, though he wore the smile and carried his nerves with him. He suddenly stopped walking. So suddenly that she bumped into him. He froze, staring forward down the street. His head jerked upwards then fell forward with a quiet scream and his breathing became loud. He brought his hands up to his head, covering his ears with a moan that brought him to his knees like he had been kicked in the back.

"What's wrong?" Cole asked bending down to him, he put a hand on Link's shoulder only for it to be covered in vomit a moment later. Cole grimaced.

Link could hear voices. A magnitude of voices, all shouting and chatting, not to him, not to anyone, but they were so loud!

_I like her shirt, I wonder if she got it at the bazaar._ one voice muttered,

_I'm making a profit by selling junk!_ another laughed,

_Money! Yes!_ another shouted,

Link whined again as all the voices merged with each other, becoming a wave of sound, impossible to work out a singular voice. He retched again, pulling the mask off his face.

The voices…they stopped.

All he could hear was the chatting of the crowd in the plaza or at the stalls, relatively quietly. He laid his head on the cobblestones as Pippa came around the corner with a few feathers in her coat. She had gone for a Cucco on the sly; he gasped and retched again, hugging his stomach.

"Link?" Zelda mumbled kneeling down to him, her face blocking out the light from the setting sun.

He saw nothing, heard nothing, felt nothing. He just groaned.

She waved a hand in front of his face but did not even get a blink. He was breathing, but it was really shallow, seconds passing between his breaths. He slowly shut his eyes, blocking his stare from the world.

"I can carry him." Cole mumbled lifting the boy up, letting his head fall into his shoulder. "Wow, he's really light."

"He doesn't get much food." Zelda sighed as they passed through the plaza, chased by the eyes of the concerned folk, Pippa meanwhile lapped up the vomit until Zelda called her over.

Zelda heaved the doors open of the Temple of Time, a great grey building that not only served as a place to house a powerful sword, but a home for the Sages and Training Sages, much of the grounds behind the temple had been covered in little brick buildings, serving as accommodation for them and though winter was coming, the grounds were full of flowers and many orange robes were working hard to bring the harvest of vegetables in before the snow.

A large man kneeling down before three floating jewels turned to face them, his face hidden by the mask; even under said mask, he wore a bright smile and kind eyes, though he looked like he had been stuffed into that robe for it was a little too short, his yellowish feet stuck out from under the robe along with a pair of crusty knees that looked like they could be broken off; with every step he took towards them, the ground shuddered.

"Brother!" came a hearty voice from within the robe and mask

"We brought him but something happened." Cole said handing Link's body over, the man carried him in one hand like he was a baby.

"Wow, he's light! Does he eat?" the man chuckled removing his mask and lowing the hood of his robe as Zelda pushed the doors closed. The man was not a man, but a walking yellow rock with purple eyes that refused to blink in the presence of another. His yellowish hair or what you could call hair was sticking out in three solid bunches on his otherwise bald head and in a similar fashion on his chin almost reaching touching Link's nose in his arms.

"Of course he eats, Darunia!" she panted sliding down the door

"I was just teasing, Sister." Derunia chortled, brushing Link's hair out of his face with a single finger "Yes, the boy is in dire need of assistance, you can see it."

"You'll keep him here till the heat dies down?" Zelda begged rushing up to him, grabbing his robe in her hands.

"That is not for me to decide, Sister." Derunia sighed as another person came into view, a woman wearing a dark robe. She had piercing red eyes and hair that was somewhere between blue and white. Her face was patterned with white streaks of paint under her eyes and her lips were red as the rose. Through the robe, was a pendant, one that bounced against her chest when she moved, the symbol within the pendant, was a crying eye. Zelda jumped back a few paces, the symbol of the Sheikah.

"Bring him into the back." she muttered with a frosty tone, shifting out of the way slightly to show a small room behind her, one with nothing but a bed inside. Derunia waddled towards her and placed Link on the sheets.

The woman stared at Zelda, watching her with almost a smile, but the corners of her mouth did not twitch into one so welcome on her lips. She remained skeptical for some reason in her gaze, though Zelda could not find a reason to be. She felt a pang of worry in her heart. There was something in her gaze that showed irritation but the hint of loss was there too, almost like she knew him from somewhere.

Zelda traced her mind back to the cell. Link's eyes had looked…different under that mask…they looked…purple. Though it could have been a trick of the light.

She hoped it was.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Dun dun DUN! Link's getting involved with the sages! Now why would they hide a fugitive? and more importantly why did Impa give them such a frosty stare? Does she know something we don't? OOH! PLOT STUFF! Awesome. Now those who have read other works of mine, will know that I have a habit of mentioning eye colour; making it an important thing. TAKE NOTES! Ha-ha!


	9. The Half-Shadow

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.**

Chapter Nine - The Half-Shadow

Soft pillows met the back of Link's head as he awoke from his snooze; his head felt like it had been hit with a piece of wood to put it lightly; his head felt like it had been hit with a plank of wood to put it lightly. Everything was sore. He rolled off the bed and dropped on the stone floor from a height. Well, that was new. He was so used to rolling out of bed onto the floor instead he had just made his headache about three times worse with thinking he was in his own bed; come to think of it, what happened yesterday? All he could recall was leaving the cell and the voices, so many! Next thing, he's in a bed, a proper bed in a brick building.

Link sat up, still wrapped up in the blanket from his fall wrapped up in a clean grass green shirt and the small orange robe from yesterday; though his shoes were gone, his feet did not feel cold, he normally fell asleep in his shoes because of draft but saying that, the floor was not even cold. He rubbed his eyes and untangled himself from the blankets taking a moment to work out where he was.

This must be the Temple of Time. This was where Zelda had said they were going. They must have carried him or something. He was grateful, but he felt like he had overstayed his welcome. He stretched, letting the sun from a window high up on the wall clean his bandaged arms with sunlight, but as he did, little shadows of the first snowflakes were going by, already the windowsill was covered in the white stuff. He placed the blanket back on the bed as best as his headache allowed him to and he began to walk to the closed door, his footing rather unstable and soon was on the floor again.

"Do you have any idea what happened last night?" a voice asked, one that made all the hair on the back of his neck stand to attention. Link swallowed hard and turned sat back up, much slower this time as two black spots were the only things he could really see no matter how much he moved his head.

He shook his head slowly.

"I thought as much." the voice muttered, a woman came partially into his view wearing a purple robe, she could have been standing next to him and he would not have seen her. "You know where you are, silent boy?"

Link nodded and tried to get back to his feet only to feel a hand push against his back, supporting him from a fall.

"My name is Impa. I am the Sage of Shadow." the woman conversed sitting Link down on the bed. "I took care of you last night. It was royals that rescued you; you owe them your thanks."

Link nodded and laid against the pillows that Impa had replaced

"As a Sheikah, I have learned the ways of shadow; no one can hide truth in their hearts as they can their minds." Impa began "Last night I studied your worried heart, see?" she lifted Link's shirt up to show what appeared to be a scabby tattoo of a crying eye over his heart.

Link widened his eyes and put a hand over the mark in a panic, Impa put her hands over his shaking ones

"It's not permanent." Impa spoke putting a hand on his cheek "It shouldn't last longer than three days."

Link nodded and let out a soft sigh

"Anyway, that is there because it shows I've looked at it. You don't have a heartbeat's worth of greed in your heart. But that wasn't what startled me last night; you seem to be the man of the house, but..."

Link glanced in her direction in surprise, widening his eyes with a little hope

"Where is your father?"

Link stared forward, his hopeful expression turned into a frown, gradually falling into a state of sorrow

"I see. It must be an awful memory to have lost him." Impa mumbled putting a hand on his shoulder,

He let out a sob into the pillow; Impa gave him a concerned look

"Son, what's wrong?" she asked kneeling down,

Link sniffed and shook his head

"I understand your situation, but you're not well enough to leave this room." Impa spoke brushing his hair to the side along with a few crystalline tears "I've sent Cole down to check on them."

He seemed to relax a touch.

"Oh, and we have someone who's been dying to see you for a while." Impa said opening up the door to let a puppy covered in a thin layer of snow roll in. Link opened his arms out to her, allowing her, once again to cover him in dog kisses. Dirt covered her feet like they were in boots and her little nose had a small mountain of dirt on it from digging, where, he could not say. He just hoped it was not somewhere important.

_Please_ not somewhere important.

"She was howling most of the night for you; she knew where you were but ended up sitting there all night, watching the door I think." Impa chuckled tutting at the sight of the dirty paw prints on the floor. Link winced at them but Impa just shook her head. "Zelda will be on her way soon. Though Pippa will keep you company, just send her if you need anything. I'll get you something to eat."

Link nodded and in a flash of yellow and white light she was gone, half blinding him and Pippa who had hidden under the bed in fright.

It was late afternoon before Zelda was shown in, she wore a black cloak over her clothes to visit him. After giving him a vial of red potion for his arms, he lay back on the pillows, Pippa playing bodyguard between them by lying at his side, her head on his stomach, letting him stroke her back in little circles. Zelda knew that Pippa was keeping a close eye on her; she was getting too close to her master for comfort.

Link zoned out as she chatted away to him, making him give her a blank stare when she asked a question. He was exhausted. Zelda had explained it to him; the only reason he never felt tired is because he was so busy doing chores or feeding his family or running away from the guards; now that he had slowed down; all the energy he had lost over doing the jobs had just been realized and was making him weak and tired. A few days off was all he really needed.

Zelda put a hand on his cut arm and rubbed her fingers across it, much to the growl of Pippa. She had never met a boy like him; though his silence was to be expected, his emotions had no boundaries, letting him be as equally part of the conversation as she was; though she could tell he was starting to get tired.

"Hey, Link?" she mumbled keeping her eyes on Pippa in his arms, Link looked up at her, his eyes staring into hers, though he could not see them very well. "When I was younger, Mother used to tell me stories when I wasn't feeling well. Would you like me to tell you a story?"

Link smiled and blew some hair out of his eyes; Pippa turned her attention to him and snorted.

Zelda smiled back, one reaching from ear to ear "Okay!"

Pippa jumped down and trotted outside, it made both of them giggle at the fact that she was getting really jealous and it showed.

"Alright, lean back and listen." Zelda began, clearing her throat. "_Long ago, when people known as the Hylia Children first stepped onto the solid ground, they made a small settlement, that place was to be called Hyrule after many years of work. During the building of their settlement, a boy, a little older than us was walking through the woods one day and fell down into a grove; this place was beautiful, filled with flowers and plants that were the greenest he had ever seen, he walked down the grove till he came upon a nest, centuries old. Inside the nest were four speckled eggs the size of him and each one a different colour, one had red speckles, one had blue, one had yellow and one had green. When he got into the nest, three of the eggs cracked open; showing three huge birds the size of horses with feathers as soft as well, feathers. The boy was startled at first but was welcomed into the nest by the birds, ones which were soon named Arrow Birds. Why? They gave him arrows that were so powerful they could melt the coldest ice, freeze the hottest fire and light the darkest night, even so, no one knows what became of the forth egg, the green one._ What do you think, Link?"

Link was fast asleep, his arms by his sides.

"That used to happen to me too. I would never hear the end of the story." Zelda chuckled jumping off the bed and pulling the covers up to Link's neck. She ran a hand through his hair to brush it out of his closed eyes and sighed, was it because he was poor that she had feelings for him? Why when she was in his company did she feel safe, guarded? Why did he trust her so? And…did he like her more than her crown? Being silent was something that she wished more people would have; it made him a good listener. She growled as he turned away, slamming the door so hard that it shook; yet Link just turned over with a mumble.

"Now, now, child." a voice chuckled, one that was high pitched, holding laughter in every word. Zelda shook her head and slapped the air with a hand; the voice was one that belonged to a child itself, one younger than her too. "No need to get all annoyed at him."

"Who are you to say that I am annoyed at him. I'm annoyed at myself." Zelda moaned leaning against the wall, the voice's owner came into view, she was shorter than Zelda with tufts of green hair sticking out under her autumn leaf hood and a pair of clear blue eyes stared out through a smaller version of the white mask.

"Can I ask why?" she asked

"I don't know why myself." Zelda muttered leaning on her hand, leaning her elbow on a raised knee

"I fell in love with an outsider once." the girl giggled lowering her hood "I had known him since he was a baby."

"Saria!" a shrill voice screamed "Help!"

The girls turned their heads to see a little green ball of light fly through a little flap in the wall and hide in the lowered hood of the green haired child. A head stuck through the flap, a little furry face with a big pink nose, her tongue sticking out and her breath panting from chasing

"It's just Link's dog. She's nothing to worry about, Arbori." Saria spoke as Pippa dashed in, watching the grey ball flutter just out of reach. She knew not to jump on two-legged but the ball was fast and did not need to be brought back, though it was not tasty at all.

"I don't care! She's chased me all over the gardens!" Arbori wailed clinging onto some leaf green strands of Saria's hair. Her stained glass window wings flattened against her tiny body encased in green light; "She nearly swallowed me!"

Saria smiled and took off her mask "She's a dog; and a puppy of that, she's bored and you make a pretty good sized ball."

"I am NOT a ball!" Arbori cried ducking into the safety of Saria's robe. Pippa sat down, that ball had to come out eventually.

Zelda sighed and called Pippa over, who after some grumbling, came to her side, cocking her head in question. "He's not an outsider to you."

"Link? He is no Kokri, nor is he a Sage. Neither of them were." Saria shrugged

"No, I mean, I'm royalty, no matter how much I wish otherwise, I can't consort with his kind." Zelda groaned

"Oh really?" Saria giggled, Zelda did not like that look one bit. "I can see it, you do have feelings for him. Why save him from the cells? Why not call the guards on your first meeting?"

"You know about that?" Zelda winced

"Impa and I are closer than you think. Anyway, what's stopping you from being friends with Link?"

"I'm royalty mingling with the poorest of the poor, that isn't a red flag?"

"My friend broke into your castle when we were children." Saria whispered "He was friends with the Queen."

"M-Mother?! She was friends with a commoner then tells me off for the same thing?!"

"But I don't see why you can't be friends with Link. He is different than a simple commoner."

"How?!"

"His eyes are purple. He is a 'Half-Shadow' to put it in Impa's words."

"Half-Shadow?!"

"He was a gift to them, something that is impossible to bring to this land. To put it simply, he has a Hylian mother and a Sheikah father."

Zelda nearly jumped out of her skin at Saria's words. She knew that when another race had a child to the Sheikah, the child would never live past the first day; their bodies unable to live in day or night. Link however, had gone way past this rule.

The question that came into her head was why, why had he lived past this point or more to the point…_how?_

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well, there we have it. PURPLE EYES MEAN SOMETHING! And now you know why they are that colour, why did they not show up till now? and of course you have that question at the end there; _how_ OOH! So Link has a Shadow Folk father? Doesn't it seem odd that Link did not even know this? Like someone is trying to hide this fact and replace it with a lie? Why would someone want to do that? Till next chapter!


	10. Bad Questions and Pink Lights

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**.

Chapter Ten - Bad Questions and Pink Lights

Link let out a moan and opened his eyes to tiny slits; his eyelashes were covered in sleep

"Link?" a female voice spoke, a face blocked his view of the room. He closed his eyes fully for a moment before snapping them open in shock. Zelda's forehead was pressed against his own he swallowed hard to the point that an audible gulp was heard; Zelda meanwhile, held a steady glare and Pippa was nowhere in sight. "Why didn't you tell me that you were part Sheikah?"

Link shrugged, giving her a confused glance as he did so, what was she talking about?

"You have purple eyes. You are Half-Shadow! Why did you lie by saying you weren't a Sheikah?!" Zelda roared

Link groaned into his pillow, wishing with all his might that something would come to his aid.

"Are you trying to wake the whole Temple?" a frosty voice asked, the body leaning on the door frame

"Tell him, Impa!" Zelda shouted, pulling at Link's collar "He lied!"

Impa gave her a confused expression "Don't shout at him. He didn't know."

Link gave a small sigh of relief and sank into the pillows

"How can you not notice purple eyes?!" Zelda groaned jumping off the bed; Link shot up and moaned, she had elbowed him in the stomach.

"Very simple when they were blue." Impa muttered, a frown appearing. Zelda chewed her lip before turning to face Link again, Pippa trotted in through the open door and hopped onto the bed, curling up on Link's lap with a sigh "Powerful magic or natural disguise, I'm not sure."

"Link, how are you alive?" she whispered,

Link cocked his head and let out a short chuckle not understanding her question; she saw his glance and sighed.

"When Sheikah and another race have a child together; the baby never survives the night or day that follows; their bodies unable to function in sun or shadow. But you, you have broken the natural law, how?!"

He lowered his head with a shrug; Pippa licked his cheek

"I think we should get you mother to tell you about your heritage, you are a new race! Imagine what you can do for this world!" Zelda giggled lifting her ears and slapping her hands on his shoulders

Link shook his head and stroked Pippa's back, she sighed again and licked his hand

"Why not?!" Zelda shrieked shaking his shoulders, Pippa gave her a threatening growl, but Link warned her from taking it further

"Though I may be the last of my race in Hyrule, who's to say that I am in other lands?" Impa spoke, offering Pippa a piece of meat "Shadow Folk don't take kindly to Half-Shadow."

Link rubbed his throat and widened his eyes; everyone wanted his head these days

"Oh." Zelda mumbled "But that still doesn't answer on how you broke the law of nature."

Link shrugged again, Zelda revived another warning growl from Pippa. The pair locked eyes, the more that Zelda questioned Link, the more Pippa would snarl. Highly suspect.

"Well, as Princess, I order you to take me to your mother." Zelda spoke, folding her arms.

Link sniggered and gave her a funny look

"I know that sentence sounds wrong but c'mon! I want to know! Where's your sense of adventure?! You have the name of a great man!" Zelda spoke, something seemed to click; Link chewed his lip and stared at his feet

"She does have a point." Impa informed "And you have ice arrows, there are many questions there."

Link stood up with a sigh, what did he have to lose?

"Yay! I'll get us some horses!" Zelda cheered rushing out. Link rubbed his temples and looked at Impa through his fingers, narrowing his eyes jokingly

"Alright, I took her side." Impa laughed, staring into Link's eyes, watching them decide on colour, to either be as blue as the ocean or as purple as the grape. "Link, you can't be expected to ride with plastered arms, so I'll give you a secret that he told me."

Link gave her his full attention; Pippa raised her head from between her paws, taking more interest than normal in conversation

"There is something called a Fairy Fountain near the castle, you can pose as a Training Sage to get past the guards around the grounds; you can heal your injuries fully there." Impa whispered, taking Link's hand in hers, her smile turned upside down, Link squeezed her hand and cocked his head, similarly to the way that Pippa did on the bed "I am the last of the Sheikah in Hyrule as I have said, but I know and hope that I am not the last of the Sheikah in the world. If you do find out where your father is, tell me. I would be humbly grateful."

Link nodded and put a hand on his left eye, sliding it down his cheek. Impa flinched but did the same; after which, Link signaled Pippa to his heel and the pair walked away to the Fairy Fountain dressing up in a robe on the way.

Impa leaned against the wall with a heavy sigh; Saria came into view, Arbori sitting high on her shoulder to avoid being chased by Pippa; the dog did not even lift her head.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Saria asked, Arbori fluttered down and landed on Impa's shoulder

"Link used a teardrop promise. I don't know where he could have learned that. It's kept to the Sheikah tribes." Impa mumbled

"I know it and I'm not a Sheikah." Saria shrugged. Impa lowered her head but then raised it sharply.

"Something's wrong." Impa spoke, her voice almost a whisper "The air turned cold for a moment."

"I felt it too." Saria hissed hugging her shoulders "Arbori, look around for anything abnormal on the grounds."

The fairy nodded and fluttered her wings.

Link refused the mask and wore his own; the feeling of the feathers was comforting on his skin. Though he missed home, he felt like there was a danger around every corner, even more so since the chopping block and axe was still waiting in the plaza as he passed, the metal of the axe gleaming off the moon that shone through the snow clouds. Pippa walked at his side, her tiny footprints barely crunching on the snow unlike his, she had never seen snow before. The streets were quiet and peaceful, many lights were out and slumbering folks were hidden within the gentle shadows that the night provided, snow still fluttered down from the sky, landing on his warm face and melting into fake tears; Pippa tried to catch the falling snowflakes till some snow fell from a roof nearby, coating her in the white stuff. Link laughed as she dug through it, shaking the snow from her coat as she burst through, her face white.

Link shivered and looked around, something did not feel right. The air had turned as cold as death, filling the streets with mist as it did so; Pippa whined with concern and pawed his legs to be lifted up, but Link sliced the air, coming down to her instead, a gentle blue light passed by; one with the white eyes he was familiar with. Link waved a hand, but Pippa broke into a snarl, arching her back and straightening her tail, the light passed by and flew into a house, the thick winter curtains parted with a whoosh as it got close. But then, just like that, the mist cleared and heat started to come back to him. Pippa continued to growl, this time her nose was to the house the light had gone in, she was backing up snarling through her teeth till she hit Link's legs. He swallowed hard and dashed away from the plaza.

Unbeknownst to him, a little green bird with silver wings watched him from a rooftop, its tiny claws clinging onto a chimney pot. It spread out its wings and then tucked them back in, the silver tips of its feathers slowly started to change colour, almost to an ice blue as it turned its tiny head, focusing its black eyes on the boy. The bird seemed to smile, the corners of its beak turning up.

Link continued to run all the way to the castle gates, but as he was about to reach the guards that walked along the trench they had made in the snow; something grabbed the sash of the robe, showing an enormous feat of strength they pulled him to the safety of some old vines, ones that were decades old, their leaves covered in snow. He lost his balance and crashed to the floor.

"I finally found you!" Arbori panted landing on his head with a gasp "Saria sent me to look for strange things about the Temple of Time. And nothing is stranger than you two. I overheard Impa telling you about the Fairy Fountain; there is a faster way."

Link glanced up as the fairy leaned over, grabbing a few strands of his hair and placing her feet on the bridge of his nose

"You do know I can carry huge weight, right?" Arbori asked placing one hand on her hip

Link nodded, tying the sash of his robe.

"If can pull you along the ground; imagine what more of me could do." Arbori smirked placing a thumb and finger into her mouth; though her face nearly went red with blowing so hard, no sound came.

Link glanced down to Pippa, she was bringing her forepaws over her nose; her ears lifted as she did so, he had never seen her do that before.

"Just give it a moment." Arbori whispered landing on the ground. Her light was shining bright in the dark; he hoped it would not give them away.

She was joined by another light, a baby pink one; it floated down from the sky on short, stubby wings that were totally different from Arbori's huge, heavy ones. Another of the same colour came down; landing slowly and gently on Link's shoulder before sliding down to his broken wrist, he felt their tiny fingers unravel the careful, if not slightly dirty bandaging. Another pink light came into view, landing on his cut arm; their tiny feet finding every cut and scar there.

On Link's count there were thirteen fairies, including Arbori. They all surrounded him, grabbing anything their hands could seize in their grip; clothing, hair, fingers, anything. Pippa sat still as some even floated around her; though she did not attack as they slid under her stomach, three fairies lifted her gently off the ground holding her up enough for Link to see their power

"Alright, one, two, three!" Arbori ordered, Link felt tiny pairs of hands pull on what they had grabbed; their wings humming under his weight but even so, he was moving, the tiny creatures carrying both him and Pippa up off the ground with steady control.

He smiled as the fairies stopped their ascent into the sky and began to fly him slowly forward; the cliff they passed was filled with tiny pink flowers, each one bright and glittery in the fallen snow, as he passed them, he felt like he was increasing in speed, flying faster and with much more control, he looked around, he was sure he had counted thirteen, now there was at least twenty two and more were appearing from the flowers. They _were_ the flowers. The guards were distracted by the sight of a few fairies dancing in front of their faces to watch the boy and pup fly into a small hole in the rock walls.

He stayed their till morning. Long after the sun rose just watching the pink balls of light fly around him, mending his clothes of holes without a needle and thread, washing his hair without soap, healing his wounds without medicine, even Pippa lay down to let the tiny hands scrub her coat clean. He was relaxed here and they were with him; though all he could hear were their bell-like voices and the gentle humming of their wings, he was calm, so calm that he lay on his back inside the cave, one that was lit gently with silver flames, water soaked though his clothes but he did not really mind, the water was nice and warm, but very shallow. Which begged the questions where was it coming from and where was it going?

He shut his eyes and then opened them slowly again, a pink fairy landed on the tip of his nose; he got a glimpse of her, a young lady in appearance wearing a short sleeved top and puffy skirt that looked like it had been made out of the end of a lily, in her long pink hair she had a tiny daisy, no bigger than the nail on his smallest finger.

"I remember you." she whispered sitting on his nose

Link blinked hard, her voice was unusually clear

"You were born here, so was your sister." she spoke

Link turned alert and sat up so quickly that the fairies around him jumped

"We kept your mother alive." the fairy said with a smile

Link lay back down and looked at the ceiling, his eyes unblinking. Pippa shook off the fairies and padded over, sitting down next to him, he let out a light laugh and stroked her chin. His eyelids began to feel heavy as Pippa lay down, snuggling into Link's side as he settled. The pair of them fell asleep in the water, knowing that if anything did come after them, the fairies would warn them.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

'Take me to your mother!'...That's a question. So, Link was born in a Fairy Fountain, is that how he is alive or is there something else at work? Who is the green bird? Is that from the story Zelda told him last chapter or are there other things watching him, both good an evil? Speaking of which, Pippa didn't bark at him, did she ignore him or did she not smell him? OOH, plot elements!

How am I doing? Are you enjoying the story so far? We are not even started yet!


	11. Mother's Last Wish

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Eleven - Mother's Last Wish

Zelda wandered around the Temple of Time. The night had past and the morning sunshine was just peeking over the Goron Mountains. The Sages and Training Sages were awake and already sharing a chatty breakfast, races from all over Hyrule were here including a few races that she just thought were enemies; that explained the constant dodging of Deku Nuts. Yet kneeling down by the floating Spiritual Stones in the main room was a very tall man, he was over six foot in height and towered over many of the other people in the room. He kept himself to himself, hiding behind a mask.

"Would you like some breakfast, Your Highness?" a Training Sage asked, bowing down to her, Zelda looked at the child that stood before her, a little Deku Scrub with bright yellow eyes. Most of her was hidden by the robe she wore, half of it cleaning the floor when she skipped around.

"No, thank you." Zelda whispered leaning on the windowsill. The Deku Scrub clapped her hands and bounced over to the man by the stones, he turned to look at her and put a strong hand on her shoulder, he met the eyes of Zelda, deep blue ones that she was sure that she knew from somewhere.

She awoke with a start, dressed in a lavender nightgown; the clean, silky bed clothes covering her legs and feet; she groaned as her door opened

"Come on, Zelda. The sun will be up any minute and if you want to get to the ranch then we have to eat with Link." Cole hissed, pulling the bed clothes off her, he was already fully dressed. She nodded and looked into a little hand mirror that lay face down on the bed side table, her refection stared at her sleepily; there was so much in her that was in her mother too. How could she not have told her that she was friends with a commoner? "Get up, Zel." Cole grunted throwing a bag of reading material on the bed, she glanced inside, the books she had told him to get were in there. She would show them to Link later.

"Hang on; I thought he lived in Kakariko Village." Zelda mumbled rubbing sleep out of her eyes

"I evacuated his mother and sister. They are hidden at the ranch. His mother has the illness." Cole whispered watching the door as his sister undressed

"I know. He told me." Zelda said "How was she?"

"I told her that he was safe. They were thankful for everything that I did, even offered me rupees."

"What of Linebeck?"

"He hunts for him. The townspeople still want his head but I've seen why he stole and Impa said it wasn't for greed."

"So you'll help us?"

"Help you do what?"

"I want to find someone who knows about the ice arrows. The Hero of Time had them didn't he?"

"The Hero of Time went missing when you were toddling. Many think he's dead."

"_Think_ he is. But there's no proof of his demise."

"So you plan to get Link to help you find him? Where do you start? The man knew the land better than the grass that grew in it."

"Well, we ask people who knew him and go from there." Zelda sighed coming out from a side room holding her bed clothes.

Link stirred, giggling to himself as he felt Pippa's tongue lick his cheek. He opened an eye to see her happy face, she had three fairies sitting on her back brushing her fur with their fingers no matter how much she tried to shake them off. Arbori fluttered down as he sat up and landed on his raised knees

"Nice nap?" she asked as he yawned, he nodded in reply. "You are completely healed, so now you can leave on your own. Just climb up the vines on the cliff face and there you go."

Link chewed his lip and looked at her with a concerned expression.

"I'm afraid we can't give you a voice if that's what you are asking." Arbori muttered

Link shook his head and pointed to his arms, pointing back and forth between the fairies and his forgotten wounds

Arbori cocked her head to the side in an effort to understand him "Fairies can heal wounds?"

He shook his head again and pulled at the skin of his cheeks, pulling it down as far as it would go, coughing hard and standing up, but keeping his back arched.

Arbori shrugged "Um…Old people?"

Link nodded and stood up firmly, thumping a fist against his chest, softly so not to hurt himself

"Sick?" Arbori asked

Link nodded again and clapped his hands, swatting the air with them

"Old people get sick?" Arbori cringed, some of the pink fairies were steady, also trying to work out the game of charades they were playing

Link wafted the air with his hands, running around in little circles while arching his back

"Old people get sick fast?"

Link rubbed his temples with a groan and violently turned on his heel, repeating the  
action over and over again

"Old people turn sick fast?"

He let out a frustrated moan and twisted his wrist around, smiling as he did so

"Fast old people turn sick?"

Link shook his head but kept moving his wrist. A pink fairy leaned over to Arbori

"Oh! Sickness that turns people old fast! Why didn't you say so?" Arbori clapped her hands,

Link frowned

"I'm afraid that our power can't heal them. Though we have tried, it is useless."

Link looked at his feet

"I'm sorry." Arbori mumbled landing on his shoulder and rubbed his cheek with a hand "We should be heading back now."

Link rode on a black horse with a silvery mane towards Lon Lon Ranch; though he had many years of practice with riding a horse, he felt out of place on this one. It was a nobleman's horse, he could tell by how good natured and clean it was; not that it was a bad thing, but it certainly was not a good thing either; a horse needed to know terrain of all types to be at one with its rider, if the horse was unsure, then the rider would be too. He could tell this horse was very unsure of the grass under its feet as it kept its head down. Zelda's white one was the same; Cole's was back a few paces back chewing on the plant leaves of a dead Deku Baba, Cole himself was on the floor as his horse had reared upon sight of the carnivorous plant, but had stomped it dead as it dropped. Link pulled the reins of his to halt the creature and jumped down to greet Pippa, who was in a grumpy mood because there was nowhere for her to sit on the horse. She whined at him as he crouched down, the pads of her feet ached with walking so much as Link now refused to carry her. She nuzzled into his neck and licked his cheek with a whine. Link smiled at her and put his thumb and first finger into his mouth and whistled a tune. Pippa spun around excitedly and wagged her tail so hard it became a blur.

The pounding of hooves filled the silence of the air and Link's mare came around the corner coming to a complete halt at her master. She was still saddled up but her saddlebags were almost empty; Rosie must have been through them. He lifted Pippa up into the little pouch at the side of the saddle and walked both his horse and the nobleman's horse over to Zelda and Cole.

Zelda slid of hers and sighed "They aren't going to carry us much further."

"Agreed." Cole muttered dusting down his trousers. Link scoffed and vaulted onto the back of his own holding the nobleman's horse reins in one hand, he clicked his tongue and let his mare walk, the nobleman's horse stood firm. Link's mare huffed and started to almost drag the nobleman's horse forward, he could feel it fighting them, but like a foal, it began to walk forward; bringing itself forward slowly to his side, in turn it got the sweet, sugary taste of apple from the side saddlebag that Pippa was in.

After a few short laps near the river, the nobleman's horse was released from his grip as Link broke into a gallop, followed closely by it. He turned his mare and raced back to Zelda and Cole, who were back on their horses now; they were spellbound; completely speechless at the fact that a poor boy like Link had trained a nobleman's horse to run on grass in under an hour without using a single word. Link rushed past, grabbing the reins of the other two horses and pulled them along; with the known nobleman's horse trust running past them, the other two with the treat of apples sped up till all four horses were charging ahead in a line.

Link let go and let them run on their own before catching up with the nobleman's horse that had been undirected for a while and started to lead it again up to the entrance of Lon Lon Ranch with Zelda and Cole following behind.

"Good afternoon, Your Highnesses." a young man spoke as they climbed the hill up to the front gate. "Two visits in two days, I'm flattered."

"Hello, Richard." Cole replied clambering off his horse as the young man took the reins. The young man in question had hair that was as blue as the sky and was as curly as that of a sheep; he had small squinting eyes to match the hair too. He wore a dark blue tunic to go with it that was covered by a set of grey overalls and tall leather boots. In a small pocket on his left hip was a pair of gloves that were caked in dirt. Link came into sight and gave a shallow wave.

"Well, look who it is." Richard laughed putting his hands on his hips

"Do you two know each other?" Zelda asked glancing at the pair

"Do we know each other?!" Richard howled pulling Link off his horse "My mother taught him how to read and write!"

Link rolled his eyes as Richard wrapped his arms around his neck and rubbed his fist across Link's head. Zelda and Cole glanced at each other with a hint of uncertainty.

"Then why didn't you become a farm hand instead of a shop keeper?" Zelda asked when Richard had finished torturing him

Link shrugged and slapped the air with his hands while sticking his bottom lip out.

"Your mother sold the ranch when she got pregnant with you, didn't she? You became poor when your father died." Richard smirked, Link looked at his feet.

Zelda put a hand on Link shoulder as he looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Where are they then?" she asked rubbing his shoulder

"They're in the house there, but Rosie went to Kakariko Village for something. It's just your Mother here right now." Richard chortled "Well, I have to go work on the barn before sundown, do excuse me."

"Thanks, Richard." Cole said to find that Link had disappeared inside.

"I'm so pleased you're safe." Link's mother whispered giving her son a much needed hug. Zelda and Cole walked in through the door to find that Link's demeanour had changed into something they had not seen before; he was no longer the silent background boy that was hated by most of the population, he was the head of much loved family who needed him more than he did them. "I'm sorry."

Link backed away into a crouch for a moment, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

"I'm so sorry for getting you in trouble like this. I have to make amends for my actions." she said beckoning him closer

"What is she talking about?" Zelda mumbled, leaning over to Cole

"I'm not sure." Cole answered shaking his head slightly

"Listen, Link, when I became pregnant with you and Rosie, I was very ill and your father helped me travel to a little fountain by the castle. In truth we were only expecting Rosie to be the one born; when you came we were really surprised and of course, overjoyed. I knew by this time that your father was one of the Shadow Folk and understood that we had to keep you both hidden. The Sheikah knew our location and were coming after us when we got home to the ranch, your father knew this and we were forced to sell and move to where we are now. To stay, he dressed up in peasant clothing, coloured his eyes blue and tore up his Sheikah clothing. He turned his back on his people and it hurt him but he wanted to watch you grow up." Link's mother whispered shutting her eyes as she told the story "He managed to stay till just after your second birthday. On the night that he left, your father woke you and Rosie up to say goodbye; that was night that we saw your eyes had turned from blue to purple. Rosie's didn't change at all, even so, he left you each something of his, he gave you his bow and arrows to grow into and Rosie a book."

"Wait! So you knew he was Half-Shadow?! And never told him?!" Zelda shouted, Link stood up and stuck his arm out to prevent the fight "And what do you mean your ranch?! This ranch has been owned by the same family for generations!"

"Your Highness, I didn't want to risk my children's lives." Link's mother replied lying back slightly "I wanted us to be a family."

"Who are you?! Why would you do this to your children?!" Zelda roared

"Who am I? My name is Malon." she spoke, her voice so calm "I loved my family. That's why I ran."

Link scrunched his face up; Zelda was given an expression somewhere between a glare and sadness.

"Zelda, enough." Cole mumbled rubbing her shoulder

"Link, though I have told you both in the past that your father is dead, it is not true. He is still alive, hiding away somewhere to keep you safe. He is a member of the Shadow Folk of Fire; that's why his arrows all had red feathers. That's how we were caught." Malon sighed shutting her eyes "I want you to find your father. Find Ezekiel and be a family again."

Link nodded, making fists to the point of his knuckles going white, but everyone could see he was extremely shocked with the events.

"I know you will find him." Malon sighed taking a fist and holding it tight. "And Link? Take care of your sister for me; you will do that won't you?"

Link nodded

"You are a tree, Link. You can take so much and still remain standing. Please don't hate me for this." she sighed breathing a shallow breath out. She went cold. Link shook her shoulder with his free hand. Cole shooed Zelda out and took his leave as Link sat there shaking her shoulder in almost desperation; tears running down his face.

It took some dragging from Cole to get him to leave her side; Rosie had joined them at that point, he was still sitting there, wailing, his face deep red and painful.

"Link, come on!" Cole groaned pulling on Link's arms, but the boy was pulling against him with awesome strength, but he knew that Link only did it out of pain and misery. He turned so sharply that Cole fell over and bashed his fists on the wooden walls so hard that he left an imprint before covering his face with his hands and slid down the wall into a ball.

Cole ran a hand down his back as Link went quiet, though anger had driven him to this position, the death had sunk in. Zelda opened the door slightly but Cole shook his head to make her leave. He was one of the lucky few to not have experienced death in the family so had no idea what to say to Link to make him feel a bit better.

"We have to work to your mother's last wish, Link." Cole whispered when Link had stared blankly at the door for a while "But only when you and your sister are ready, okay?"

Link nodded again and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Cole sat down with him with his arm over his shoulders for comfort, Link leaned on Cole's shoulder for a moment before sitting up sharply, he had to remember his place

"Don't worry about it, Link. I'm only a prince for the pictographs and portraits." Cole reassured offering him a handkerchief.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Sorry guys, I've had such a busy and stressful day that I almost forgot to upload today! But I did, so you don't have to kill me!

Anyway, what a chapter guys?! Huh?! Link and Rosie's father is ALIVE! Not only that, but their mother is MALON! OOH! Bet you didn't see THAT one coming! Ha! Anyway, question time, where is their father hiding? Is he close or nearby? But poor Link and Rosie, what if they can't accept their father? Also, the Hero of Time where is he? I haven't seen much of him; is he involved in this? Also, fairies can't heal the illness? Does that mean...its a curse? Or worse? OOH! Till next chapter folks!


	12. The Wolf-Masked Man

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twelve - The Wolf-Masked Man

"How is he?" Zelda asked dipping a long feather quill into some black ink. Cole shook his head.

"He's crushed. Some days he doesn't even move, some days he just blinks." Cole sighed sitting on the desk overlooking Zelda's parchment, her hand was neat and steady compared to his own. Must be a girl thing.

"Is he eating?" Zelda growled sensing her brother was joking

Cole shrugged "Seems to be. What are you doing?"

"I'm plotting our course Death Mountain. That place is sure to give us a clue about the Shadow Folk of Fire." Zelda spoke lifting her arms up, the parchment rolled up.

"Why are you taking such a big interest in this?" Cole asked "The best we can do for them now is to give them comfort and understanding."

"It's not that. Other than the noblemen and women that knock on our doors, Link and Rosie are down to earth, they work hard yet they get nothing but trouble and bad luck. I want to help them find their father, try and bring what's left of their broken family together again." Zelda sighed opening up the parchment

"It's not our place." Cole muttered slipping his glasses on his nose and read the books he and Zelda had brought home since Link had been in no mood to read their words. "We should let them come to us. No sooner."

"But he's my friend. Friends help each other out and he needs it more than I do." Zelda mumbled leaning back on her chair, letting the piece of parchment roll back up again, she tutted at it.

Due to the shortage of beds, Link and Rosie shared. While Rosie fell into a very uneasy sleep leaning on her brother's shoulder, Link remained awake, his eyes shimmering a fierce purple; his eyeballs were like two little torches in the night that if the wrong person looked into them then they would get a nasty fright. He had been staring at the ceiling for some time, joining the cracks in it with invisible lines. Though the tears still fell from the loss of his dear mother, he could not shake the feeling that their birth was something of an omen; be it a symbol of peace that the Half-Shadow could exist with both the Hylian and the Sheikah without fault; or be it a rebellious act towards the world and its people. Whatever their birth meant, it wasn't coincidence, that much he knew, based on what Zelda had told him in the Temple of Time, Half-Shadow were not meant to live by basic nature; yet why had they? Even their bodies had wised up to the fact that they needed to hide to the point of changing their eye colour.

Link carefully lifted his sister's head off his shoulder and climbed out of the bed in almost silence, he walked to the window and leaned on the sill to look at the night sky; it was decorated with stars and the full moon. Tracing his finger between the glittering stars he found the huge constellations:

_The Mask of Majora_

_The Great Sky Birds_

_And The Guardian of Gods_

Link let the corners of his mouth turn up to a small smile and looked at the Guardian of Gods constellation; from what he could make out of it, it was an animal of some type, protecting and defending evil from the three Goddesses. He knew the story, it had been told to him many times when he was young:

_When the Goddesses created the land and all within it, they chose an animal that could protect them from evil in all its forms. Upon this, they blessed the land with the creature that was good. This creature would listen to the woes of others and make them happy once more. Though the creature changed as the years went on, vanishing through history, the Goddesses drew the creature in the sky, a beautiful winged creature with four legs and a mixture of fur and feathers was their protector. That is, till man came and the Hero's Soul and the mortals of the land forgot the beauty of the skies._

Speaking of protectors, Link thought, he had not seen Pippa around for a while, the last time he had seen her was when it was still light out; she had been chasing the Cuccos around the barn at that time, barking at them to play with her. These Cuccos, however, were not too keen on the pup and had literally chased her out of the barn in a fury of feathers and scratches. Yet, she was still curious enough to wander back into the barn with Richard and the pair of them get pecked to pieces by the Cucco Revenge Squad.

Pippa scratched her ear with her hind leg and shook her head so that her ears flapped her in the face. Something was really bothering her, though as much as she tried to go about her normal canine business but she could not, she would love a cuddle from Master especially when he was whining like this because it made her sad too. She howled to the tiny lights above, looking for answers that were beyond chasing her tail; she had tried that till she hit the hooved-four-legged. In truth, she was confused; Master needed her but there was something else here and it scared her; ever since that little-hot-beast-without-hot had been close. She could hear one a few lopes away so there was no reason why Master should be whining about that, but whenever she smelled one, the same sick-two-legged scent would follow. All the fur on her body stood on end as thick air came across the horizon; she could smell a little-hot-beast-without-hot-nearby, she was certain of it, they always came in the dark when two-legged were sleeping.

She trotted towards the den, her paws barely making a sound on the grass and pushed the stick-closer-thing that kept the wind out of the den open to get through, Master was awake, she could smell him, but the other two-legged in the den were not. Master did not even greet her with a yip that he always did when she managed to clamber up the mini-mountains up to the floor above, she thought it was amazing that there were two floors to this den! She rubbed her flank against Master's leg but he did not look at her with his grey eyes. He was whining, his paws were over his face and water was dropping down his nose. She stood up on her hind legs and scratched her front paws gently into Master's flank, Master sat down on his backside and moved his paws from his face, Pippa nuzzled into his cheek and licked his face clean of sadness. Master sniffed and rubbed his face into her shoulder, cuddling a paw around her neck, Master was sad, why was Master sad? She glanced around, keeping her nose in the air, hang on, the smell of sick-she-two-legged was weak, where was sick-she-two-legged? Was this why Master was sad? Sick-she-two-legged was gone? Where had she gone? It would have to be pretty far to make Master sad like this…wait…Pippa leant her nose to the ground, the smell of sick was gone and had been replaced with something else, the same smell when a not-breath feathered-dog would give. Master was sad because sick-she-two-legged was of not-breath.

Link gave Pippa a quizzical glance, Pippa was sitting perfectly still by his side, her brain trying to work out what was going on, and judging by her facial expression, she had somewhat worked it out. Link stroked her back, using his shirt to wipe his tears. Cole was right, he had to do right by his late mother's wishes, but how could he? He had never heard of the Sheikah till Zelda accused him of being one, where would he start looking? He did not even know the first thing about being a Sheikah. But he knew people who did.

Rosie awoke to being alone in the house, Richard would be working, she could hear him cursing outside as a horse bucked him off.

"Link?" she whined, throwing the blankets off her front; Link's cape was gone from the hook at the bottom of the stairs, she could see it from her place. Link had two, one a winter one and one a summer one. He had lost his winter one so was stuck with a thin summer one till he modified it. She crept down the stairs to find it just as empty as upstairs, but her gaze was focused on a small note in Link's messing writing on the table in the living room.

_"I'm going to Castle Town. I'll be back by sundown."_ it read

Rosie glanced through the windows, it was almost midday, What did Link hope to achieve by trying to find a man that may or may not be alive? never mind accepting them as his children, what did they have to offer him? They barely had enough money to buy clothes, never mind funding for food and supplies to travel to find the bloke. As far as she was concerned, she had never had a father and refused to believe that Sheikah stuff she had been told.

She flopped into a chair and rubbed her red face with her hands, she had no idea what to do with herself now that she was not looking after Mother. She could always read, she thought, after all, she would tell stories to Link in her special book. Link could read but not this book, neither could mother, she said all the letters were garbled and strange; everyone said that, but she could read it perfectly. Rosie went into the bag she had brought when the Prince had brought them here and pulled out a thick book out. The cover was dark green in colour with three golden triangles in a circle; the title was pretty clear in the same golden lettering:

_Mudora's Book._

She had no idea who or what Mudora was, but they must have had some lofty connections to want a book named after them; particularly when all the writing was golden, or at least to her, everyone else said it was purple. She rubbed a hand down the spine of the book feeling the bumps that housed the hinges keeping the book together; the cover had had its fair share of beatings and some of the pages had been torn but with her good care, the book was still in one piece.

She opened the book to the first page, her delicate fingers pressing on a coffee brown page where a black-and-white illustration was, she smiled and touched a tiny animal that was flittering above a dog of some sort, the dog was staring at it with what appeared to be almost a smile; the tiny animal in question was a bird no bigger than a sparrow with a sharp beak. Flicking through the pages to the middle of the book there was another black-and-white illustration was; it was a picture of two young men back to back both in capes; one with a fine crop of light hair with a stern glare on his face; the other had darker hair with long sideburns but there was a gleeful smile on his face and an arm was over the other, the other man if you looked closely, though the glare never changed, a careful eye could tell that he was smiling too, though it was more in the eyes than the mouth where the smile was held. Rosie had always pictured these two as twin brothers as they looked similar to each other, even their height was nearly the same, but the one with a glare on his face looked a little thinner for some reason. She continued to flick through the pages till she got to the end, where the two animals were back, but this time, the bird was huge, towering over the dog; this time the dog was much more relaxed than in the other picture for he was lying down not sitting; the huge bird though had their wings out full stretch so that they could not even fit on the page fully. Underneath them, was an eye with a tear coming down from the bottom of it. She had no idea what that meant.  
Roise blew some hair out of her face and closed the book to get to the start again, to the first page of words. Upon her gazing on the literature, unknown to herself, her eyes turned purple.

The little green bird sat on a little bird feeder, its claws clinging to the metal of the feeder; watching the girl through the window with its tiny eyes with both curiosity and amazement before flying away as she raised her head.

Pippa hurried across Hyrule Field. Something had been whistling for her all morning and she could not take it anymore. She slowed down for a pant and to shake the white-wet from her coat, it was coming down slower than normal wet but stuck around longer and made her paws cold. She could smell the person whistling for her, but it did not sound like a normal whistle like out of Master's or two-legged mouth, no, this sounded like, could it be? The sound, that sound when Master found that strange firing-claw that froze her mouth, it was the same tune being whistled. She turned a corner, her ears raised to follow the whistle only to find herself at a frozen wet, covered in white-wet. This white-wet was hard and cold, but there was no way she was stepping on that, it was hard to grip onto. She howled, asking for the thing whistling to come into sight. She spotted them, sitting on a small land over some wobbly flat-trees; a rag blowing in the wind as she crept closer, her haunches raised with nerves.

They kept their back to her, only showing a gloved hand with a scrap of meat inside their fist. Pippa sat down behind them. "I've been waiting." the person said turning their head to show a tuft of blond hair but the rest of their face remained hidden by the hood of the cape and a strange dog mask except the mouth. "Do you know who I am?"

Pippa growled, raising her flank

"Now, now. No need to get all annoyed at me." the person giggled throwing the meat towards her,

Pippa pushed it away with a paw and continued to growl.

"I am being rude, aren't I?" the person spoke turning to show their face, lifting the mask up to wink a blue eye at her.

Pippa sat back down and let her tongue loll over her jaw

"So, you aren't her then." the young man sighed patting his folded knees "Never mind."  
Pippa cocked her head to the side and edged closer on command

"You can't understand me, can you? Your mother didn't teach you. Poor girl." the young man sighed "Listen to this tune and remember it well. Always follow it."

Pippa snorted and scratched an ear, though she had no idea what the he-two-legged was barking, but in the same pant he seemed very familiar under the face he could take off.

Although it could be the many big dogs around in the snow with huge teeth and claws that snatched the air, two-legged were known to be afraid of them, but she was of canine kind, they did not scare her one bit…well, maybe a little bit then.

In a click of the he-two-legged's small-paws, a strange object like a fat bone appeared in his paws, he brought the bone to his mouth and began to whistle through it.

It looked edible.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

The Wolf-Masked Man, hmm? Who could he be? How would Pippa know who he was? A whistle that looked like a fat bone, huh? What's that? Also, the Guardian of Gods...a furred and feathered animal that protected the goddesses before the Hero's Soul came around, what could that be? On another note, ROSIE HAS PURPLE EYES! Mudora's book...you may want to look back over the chapters for that one. Till next chapter folks!

Master - Link  
Two-legged - human  
He/she-two-legged - male/female human  
Two-legged-language - human language  
Chewy-paws - shoes or boots  
Feathered dog - birds  
Paws - feet or hands  
Small-paw - fingers or toes  
Wet - water or liquid  
White-wet - Snow  
Hot-beast - fire  
Hot-beast-without-hot - Flame  
Bedding - bandages or cloth on the floor  
Rag - clothes  
Den - home or room  
Flying claw - bows and arrows  
Mini-mountains - stairs  
Small den entrance - window  
Flat-trees - Planks of wood  
Sweet smelling wood - boxes of food  
Not-breath - dead/death


	13. Toilets And Royal Matters

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirteen - Toilets and Royal Matters

Link made his way to Castle Town, Pippa had left his side after hearing a strange sound, it sounded like a whistle but it was too clear to be one from a pair of lips, no, it was from a woodwind instrument of some kind. He had seen whistling stones before, though many were damaged and in need of attention, they still worked; howling strange and different tunes over and over again in strong winds, despite being made the same way. He left his mare in the shadows of the river banks as normal and walked towards the lowered drawbridge over the moat, though he had promised to be back by sundown, he could not keep that promise; there were guards everywhere, his face on sheets of parchment over every wall, door and post.

Though this time, he was ready for them.

As much as the guards thought they knew Castle Town, including the dark and damp sewers, there were many places other than the front door to get in. He swam into the fast flowing river from Zora's Domain before letting the current push him towards the town walls, he took a breath and sunk under, grinding his heels into the muddy floor to move it away from a metal grate underneath in the middle of the river. Heaving it open he came to the top for another breath and swam into it.

He was dreading where he would come up.

A small building near the plaza of Castle Town began to shake, the building itself made out of wood with termite holes of various sizes along the walls. The shaking suddenly stopped and a soaked, if not, dirty young man stepped out, totally unrecognisable due to the dirt on his face but that was mainly because of the smell that lingered around him that stopped people coming close; he was not too happy with it either.  
Link waddled towards the Temple of Time, holding his breath as best he could as the smell was making him feel sick, but he was thankful that the odour was providing an invisible shield for him to enter the place. Impa and Saria were standing in the main room, the smelt him before they saw him.

"Oh, Goddesses of Good." Arbori coughed on Saria's shoulder as the women turned around "That's gross, man."

"Link? Is that you?" Saria mumbled, pinching her nose "I think you need a bath."

Link kept his arms by his sides; trying not to make the carpet any more stained than it already was.

"I'll go heat up some water. I'll get Durania to help him with his clothes." Saria grimaced rushing off to a side room.

Impa gave him a funny look. "You came into a town that wants your head. Why?"

Link shook his head, staring at her with his big purple eyes, to the point where Impa could see the colour in them floating around the iris like it were alive. His message was clear as day.

"You want to search for your father, don't you?" Impa said with a smile

Link nodded and dropped onto his knees cupping his hands together

"Yes, I will help you." Impa spoke wafting a hand "After you've washed."

Link came from the side room in clean clothes; his old ones had been buried due to the stains and the smell. Cole and Zelda stood in the main room waiting for him, they wore smiles on their faces but that soon changed to shock as Link had picked out a handsome green tunic and light brown leggings with belt that went across his chest and tightly around his waist; his little tool pouch was on his hip and his quiver was hanging on at an angle on his back; filled with arrows, some with brown feathers from the nearby weapon shops and the rest were the red feather beauties that were known to him. Link cocked his head to the side and shrugged his shoulders

"You look nice, really, you do." Zelda gasped coming closer to him, rubbing his shoulder with a gloved hand. "I just wasn't expecting you in, well, this."

Link rubbed her hand off his shoulder and stared at her. She looked back, meeting his eyes with an unblinking gaze. Cole clicked his fingers to bring the pair back to reality.

"What just happened?" he asked standing between the two, they shrugged.

"Impa told me that you wanted to find your father." Zelda coughed "Well, we found reading material that might be able to help you."

Link nodded and pointed to a bag that was over Cole's shoulder

"Yeah, that's them. We found them in our library." Zelda spoke as Cole offered the bag to him "They contain lot of information that might lead you to your father."

Link slipped the bag onto a shoulder and cocked his head

"There's like a week's worth of reading material. You have to plan a course, get supplies and such." Cole mumbled

"Link, can I come with you?" Zelda asked taking his leather gloved hand, Link nearly jumped out of his boots

"Zelda, Mother and Father would kill us!" Cole hissed grabbing her arm. Link gave a shallow nod.

"Yeah, let's recap on that shall we? Sorry, Link, I have met and become friends with a thief, helped him escape the guards more than once, helped him escape from prison and the chop! Given him medicine out of our stores for his late mother! Have I missed anything out?!" Zelda roared, making both boys lean back from her wrath "I don't care about what they think any more!"

"Well you should." Cole gulped, Zelda seized his collar. "Please say yes, Link if you want to live."

Link nodded letting an unsure smile develop on the corners of his mouth. Zelda released her brother

"Yay! Thank you! I'll pack some stuff and see you here soon!" Zelda cheered marching away, Cole collapsed on the floor.

Link offered him a hand up, trying so hard to keep his laughter in

"I don't know what she is, but she is certainly not Hylian." Cole sniggered, Link burst into laughter, audible laughter that Cole had never heard before. It proved one thing, though Link did not have a voice to talk, he was human like they all were, with the same flaws everyone had. Link brushed some hair out of his face and gave Cole a bow, bringing one fist over his chest while the other was behind his back. Cole twisted his face and patted him on the shoulder

"You don't have to bow to me." Cole spoke, Link cocked his head. "We're friends now."

Zelda threw some clothes into a bag with glee, dancing around her room while holding two shirts over her chest, one pink and one purple, she was singing, so happy to get out of the castle and go on an adventure outside her back garden

"Ahem, Zelda…" a voice came from her door as she threw the purple tunic over her shoulder, Zelda turned to see a woman standing at her door with the purple shirt over her face.

"Mother!" Zelda squealed, still with the smile on her face as she spun on a foot to reach a belt hanging on a hook on the wall "What can I do for you?"

"I haven't seen much of you lately, what has been keeping you?" the woman asked lifting a pair of gloved hands up to remove the shirt covering her face, though her hair was somewhat static due to the shirt landing on it, it remained flat against her back and head. Her eyes were gentle on Zelda, a rich royal blue, though her gaze was something to be feared when she did not blink, just as she was now. Her dress dusted the floor as she walked forward, a pastel pink dress that matched her gloves and even her skin tone. "I am waiting."

"I'm…uh…going away for a little while." Zelda said stroking her chin with a hand; the woman in front of her did the same

"And where would you be going?" she questioned halting just before her, her arms now folded, the three triangles on her left hand were shining through her gloves. Though the woman held it well, Zelda knew that she could work out that she was lying, the triangles, known as the 'Triforce', would tell her in a silent voice.

"I'm not sure. But I will be safe." Zelda said nodding her head, the woman shook hers

"And that wouldn't have anything to do with that, would it?" the Queen spoke, pointing to an arrow with red feathers leaning on the chest of draws. Zelda felt her skin crawl. She was good.

"Mother, I am sixteen soon. I can go on a trip any time I want." Zelda snarled buttoning up the bag

"I'm not stopping you from going on a trip. Getting to know the land you will one day rule is essential." the Queen informed "But..."

"But…?"

The Queen flashed her a cruel smile that she flinched at "The reasons you are going are concerning."

"No, they aren't!"

"I doubt that very much, young lady. That arrow means trouble. You are not looking for Sheikah tribes. It's dangerous to go alone."

"I won't be alone. Cole is coming-"

"No, Zelda. I was headstrong at your age, but I didn't put myself at meaningless risk."

"And what about that double life you talked about?"

"That was only a dream."

"But it sounded so real and the maps in the atlas can prove it was! The Hero of Time…you knew him, didn't you?"

"He was a friend, nothing more."

"Why would you say that?! I read his journal in the library, it tells the dream you had and I'm going to prove it by finding him!"

"So you are going to drag your friends around too? With the sickness contaminating everyone?"

"That's the thing; the Hero of Time might be able to stop it!"

"No, this thing, it's not something a sword can deal with."

"Then, I'll find a way to cure it. Good day, Mother." Zelda snapped closing the bag and throwing it over her shoulder. Her mother's words had stung her, and though she could not see her mother's face as she climbed down the stairs, she knew that she was unhappy, mentioning the Hero of Time had awakened something in her head.

Something that had meant to be forgotten.

Something that should not even be in her head at all.

The Queen sat on the bed, rubbing her forehead with her hands. As much as she knew her daughter was cunning and as smart as she, she could not risk her finding out the truth about the sickness. And what she had done to her friend to get it this way. It had not been that long ago when he had come to her one day, telling her of the sicknesses birth and she had ignored it, this was her fault. Though she was sure that he was long gone, he had known how to stop it and he was the only one who knew.

But then, there was the matter of…her deal.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

The perfect disguise...swimming in...mess... but hey, he got a tunic out of it. The princess and the queen, who is the queen? Who's the friend she did something to to get the illness the way it was?! And what is her deal?! Zelda's a little head strong isn't she? She'll choke her brother to get an answer out of her friend...Wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of her. Anyway, till next chapter folks, which is now going to be uploaded on Mondays and Thursdays until further notice.**  
**


	14. Man's Best Friend

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Fourteen - Man's Best Friend

Rosie turned over in her chair; she had gone to sleep waiting up for Link. The door opened slowly and quietly, knowing he had been later than planned, he tip-toed in, one hand on the door handle, the other covering Zelda's disgruntled mouth. Link was on edge as he looked around the room, Pippa's food bowl in the corner was still full from that morning; he shook his head and lit a candle in the kitchen bench. Rosie groaned, making them flinch. Link swallowed hard and removed his cape from over the tunic before slipping his arms under his sister to pick her up; though they were the same age, she was often thought to be younger than him by a few years due to her size, however, it was the lack of food that had stunted her growth, giving most of her portions to their late mother to keep her well and her brother to keep him strong.

Link carried her upstairs and lay her gently on the bed, her head sank into the pillow as he pulled the blankets over her. He rubbed a hand through her hair. He would take care of her, he promised.

After coming downstairs, Zelda was sitting at the table with an open book, it was his sisters'. That much he knew, though he had tried many times, the words would dance around the pages. It appeared Zelda was having the same trouble.

"How does this book work?" Zelda asked closing it quietly and holding it up in the dim candle light

Link shrugged and stuck his head out of the window, looking for his four legged friend.

"What's wrong?" Cole asked thumping up a pillow on the small sofa

Link turned and lowered his head, pointing a concerned finger to the food bowl,

Cole scratched his head "Now that you mention it, I didn't see your dog with you in the temple. Where did she go?"

Pippa rolled onto her side in her sleep; she had found a nice little dry spot in some leaves under a digable spot under some trees. Her paws were damp and sore with walking and it was such a long way back, many lopes. She was hungry too, her stomach was roaring at her but even though she was a canine; she had no idea how to hunt her own food without help from a bigger dog or two-legged. She wanted Master; everything looked scarier in the dark, what if the little-hot-beast-without-hot got to him? They smelled bad.  
A whistle. That was Master's whistle, he missed her and she wanted to go to him but she was too frightened to leave her den of leaves. She howled, hoping that Master was near, but no such happiness.

Suddenly, a growl was heard just outside the leaves, she stopped howling and retreated further into the leaves, tucking her tail between her legs as she went. A nose stuck its way into the leaves, the black nostrils catching her scent. Pippa whined and batted the muzzle away with a paw, that smell was of a big dog, like some of the ones that she had seen running by, but this one, _sniff_, this one was much less groomed and had thicker fur, strong slender legs built for running long distance and a furry tail that cleaned where ever they stood, _sniff,_, he-dog, fully grown.

The muzzle stuck its way into the leaves from a different angle that made her jump, barking a warning she moved from the leaves, showing her teeth at the big he-dog. Wait, what was that by the he-dog's paws? It was dead, but, _sniff_, what was the he-dog doing?

She barked at him and edged further back so her little eyes glared at him. The dog lunged at her, claws and teeth out to the point of almost standing up like a two-legged, swatting its big paws at the air with a howl. But then another growl from a different he-dog came from behind her, this one smelled familiar. The he-dog in front of her roared at the other, the other he-dog did not even finch, but before Pippa could even blink, the he-dog behind her, the one with grey fur, snapped her up in his jaws, holding her by the scruff and charged around the other, scrambling up above ground. The other he-dog was hot on their paws as they broke into a run.

Link whistled through his fingers. He could not sleep, the thought that Pippa was on her own somewhere in the field was worrying him. He was so used to her lying next to him, cuddled in his arms or sprawled on top of him to that he woke to doggy breath first thing in the morning. Which was not a pleasant experience. He whistled again, his face creasing more and more with concern, he knew that the Wolfos and Stalfos came out at night; a puppy would be a decent snack for one on the hunt. He gulped hard, no, Pippa was a survivor, she had managed to stay alive in a sack when they were meant to drown, but, she was only a puppy. Link let out a frustrated groan and paced back and forth. Zelda and Cole had fallen asleep, Richard and Rosie were too. Surely they would not notice him gone a few hours?

After sneaking back for his bow and quiver, he lit his oil lantern and walked out into Hyrule Field. He attached his lantern to his belt and slipped arrow into his bow ready, his eyes ever vigilant in the darkness, watching for attack from the white haired wolves that lurked in dens all around here, he had been thrown off his horse as a child by them, but had managed to fend the creatures off with his bow long enough to escape. The bushes rustled, causing him to turn on his heel fast as lightning, the bowstring stretched till his fingers were touching his cheek; nothing. He relaxed and let loose the string slowly so not to hurt himself and continued.

Pippa struggled in the he-dog's grip, the scruff of her neck was getting sore after being carried for so long but the other he-dog was on their tail and gaining on them with speed; pouncing on the he-dog that carried her. Pippa rolled across the grass as the two he-dogs circled each other, snarling through gritted teeth, she yowled into the night, lifting her head up high to carry it.

Link twisted his head round, his ears flicked against his face in the direction of the howl. Pippa! He ran towards the sound but a Wolfos snarl forced him to draw back and a claw scratched across his face, causing him to collapse on the floor with a yell, his bow slid across the grass just out of his reach as a huge paw the size of his torso, thumped on his stomach. Link pushed against the mouth of the monster, avoiding the drool and the blood from sharp teeth from a recent kill dropping onto his face, his fingers digging into the flesh and nose of the monster. Suddenly the Wolfos jumped off his stomach and snapped his jaws at something, a tiny bird flittered around the animals face, pecking at its face, clawing at its fur and screaming in its ears. Link got to his knees and slipped an arrow into his bow. The Wolfos snapped at the bird as it went for an eye. An arrow pierced its stomach.

Link dropped his bow in fright as the monster began to settle on the ground, the blood oozing out of its stomach as it died. Link picked his bow back up and fled. His thoughts muddled, yes, it wanted to eat him, but he did not have to kill it, he could have just, wounded it enough so it could not hurt him. Now what was he going to do?

Link tripped over his feet to see a wolf-on-wolf fight nearby. The pair were loud as they clashed teeth and claws together like swords, a grey Wolfos with patches of yellow around the face was on their back sinking its teeth into the front leg of a white Wolfos, like the one he had just fought, that was reaching for the neck of the other. Link squinted his eyes and saw a small dark shape in the background, could that be, Pippa?

Pippa yapped at the two fighting he-dogs, they would not listen, they were covering themselves in wounds but a scent caught in her nostrils. One of Master, Master was coming, he was close. Hang on…he was close. He was close to…this. Without thinking she threw herself into the fight, chewing the white he-dog's ear, putting her paws over his face as the other grey he-dog kicked them off. The grey he-dog snatched her up before she hit the ground and ran on, a firing claw sailed through the air, narrowly missing them. She spotted Master, he was going for them! No, Master, no! The other he-dog!

The grey Wolfos came close to him with Pippa, alive, in his mouth, it seemed unafraid of him, not that much anyway, but this felt different, since when were a Wolfos eyes blue? The Wolfos lowered Pippa to the ground and nudged her forward, keeping the distance between them fairly large, though Link had no intention of shooting the arrow at it, he was still uneasy. Pippa looked at the Wolfos for a moment, studding every line of fur on its face. Did that Wolfos just wink at her? Pippa flinched and rushed towards Link, he crouched down to her as she jumped into his stomach, licking the bleeding claw marks on his left cheek from the fight. As she licked them, he winced before nuzzling into her neck.

When they looked up, the grey Wolfos was gone.

Link washed his face, the bite of the water stung his cheek, causing a few drops of crimson to run down into the sink. Cole turned over with a moan in his sleeping sack on the sofa. Link winced again and put a hand up to the scratches, tiny red bubbles fought their way through his fingers. Cuts did not normally do that.

"What are you doing?" Zelda asked behind him making him recoil. She spotted the bubbles and put a hand over his with a sigh

Link yawned but smiled at her concern

"It's not nothing! Cuts don't do things like that." Zelda hissed taking a small pink handkerchief out of her pocket of her nightgown and dabbed his cheek dry. "You need some red potion."

Link shook his head and began to walk away from her; Zelda seized his wrist and pulled him back

"Link, I know you don't like people looking after you. But please, I am your friend. It's what we do." Zelda beamed, Link put a hand on her shoulder.

His eyes looked into hers as she cleaned the wound, rubbing a little red potion into it and letting him drink a small vial. He could tell she was getting tired the longer she worked but her careful fingers did not even sting like his own.

"That's all I can do." Zelda yawned "Get some sleep."

Link nodded his thanks and began to walk up the stairs, leaving Zelda staring at him from below. He shut the door quietly only to hear Zelda groan. Why was she groaning?

Morning came fast, the sun peeking through the gentle morning clouds turning them as pink as candy floss. Zelda opened her eyes to find Link and Rosie sitting at the table with the world map out over it; they were working in silence, which she assumed as normal for them since one of their party members was forced into that. Cole was still snoring away on the sofa when she sat up, Link offered her one of his smiles; Zelda was getting better at reading his face like Rosie did. It was a lot easier than she had thought; sometimes he mouthed greetings or goodbyes but no more, the rest was guess work.

"What's going on?" Zelda yawned

"Link persuaded me to come with you, I don't believe any of the Sheikah stuff but we have nothing else to lose." Rosie sighed folding her arms

"How did he persuade you?" Zelda asked scratching her head in thought

Link rolled his eyes and got up from his seat

"He can write you know. Even since Mother told us of the Sheikah, his eyes have been permanently purple." Rosie grumbled opening another atlas "You know, with so much writing on these maps, you would think they were reports."

"Writing? What writing?" Zelda snapped leaning over the table, the map looked the same as always, the thin lines across the copper paper marking out all of Hyrule and a strange land next to it with two huge towers

"Can't you see it? All the golden squiggles?" Rosie muttered lifting her head, Zelda nearly jumped out of her skin

"Y-Your eyes! They're purple!" Zelda shrieked, Cole rolled off the sofa

"What's happening?! Who screamed?!" he wailed as the blankets covered him like a ghost

"False alarm!" Zelda shouted rubbing her face with her hands. Link lifted the blankets off his friend's head

"It's a rhyme over and over mostly." Rosie mumbled "But it keeps moving."

"How's it moving?" Zelda whined rubbing the map with a hand

"And there is a golden circle around the Peak of Goron Mountain." Rosie informed "Looks like that is our first stop."

"Wait, you want to come now?" Zelda spat folding her arms,

Rosie lifted an eyebrow and made fists "I guess if my eyes turned purple, then I must be a Half-Shadow too."

"No need for sarcasm, ladies." Cole mumbled, both girls glared at him "Unless the pair of you look at me like that."

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well, a fight between the canine world huh? Now who could those Wolfos be? Beware of the wink. How could Link convince Rosie to come? Can you think of that one? As for the strange rhyming map, what could it be?


	15. The Gorons

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

**Chapter Fifteen - The Gorons**

Link shouldered a sack, his boots being covered in the orange dust up the way from the foot of Goron Mountain. He and Cole had been pulling a small cart up the flights of stairs that blocked Kakariko Village from Hyrule Field. They were exhausted already and still had steep hills of Goron Mountain to climb; just the thought of having to heave the cart up them brought a terrible feeling in their stomachs. Cole leaned against the cart and wiped his forehead free of sweat with a handkerchief

Link laughed.

"What is so funny?" Cole panted

Link shook his head in reply and tightened the straps around the sack before throwing it back on the cart and picking up a handle

"You can't be serious. We need to rest frequently or we'll never get to the peak in one day." Cole sighed,

Pippa came into view, she was pasty orange in colour as she had rolled around in the dust while waiting for them to catch up; the rough rubble that the floor was made out of was good for her back, it got rid of the itches that her paws could not reach, though it was really hot. Master and the he-two-legged had been pulling a rolly-wood that carried all their stuff. Her tongue lolled over her jaw, the heat of the floor was burning the pads of her paws when they had started but Master had tied little chewy-paws onto them, her paws looked like Master's paws now, but Master did not try to chew his chewy-paws. She sat next to him, trying to sit more on his chewy-paws than the floor as it burnt her backside last time, she wondered why the white-wet did not fall here, it fell at the den and there were huge wets covered in it. It might have something to do with the heat, she guessed.

Link clambered onto the cart and searched through the bags where he found a few bottles of water, they were still cold from having to thaw on the way over; he popped the cork on one of them and cupped his hand to let his friend drink some water. Pippa lapped it up till his hand was dry.

"Are we nearly there yet?" Rosie asked, both boys tutted

"I swear, Rosie if you ask that question again I will turn this cart around." Cole snarled pulling the handle of the cart onto his shoulder as Link did. Despite his size, Cole thought, Link had a huge amount of stamina and strength, though he could not really complain, he seemed to be enjoying himself, even when he was exhausted like this.

"Maybe we could ask a Goron to help us." Zelda shrugged coming to Cole's side

"There is no way we could get this up that hill." Cole sighed "This thing is meant for horses to pull!"

"Horses can't climb stairs." Zelda muttered without turning her head, Pippa's ears rose up and she began to whine, wagging her tail as she bounced from foot to foot. Link glanced down at her and gently lifted the handle from his shoulder before pouncing onto the cart for his bow and quiver, Cole stopped him when he belted his quiver to his back

"It's a place for Goron's only. It is too hot for us and it is a sacred place." Cole spoke; Link ignored him and fastened his tool-pouch to his waist

"Link, he means it." Zelda sighed, Link stared at her; his purple eyed gaze asked why.

"He is right you know." Rosie mumbled "Nearly everything is scared in this day and age, and besides, Pippa wants to go in, so you aren't going to stop him."

"I'm sorry, Hylians. You can't go any further." a voice spoke from the hillside, Pippa edged backwards till she was in the shade of the cart

"But we need to!" Zelda groaned glancing around for the voice. Link lowered his arms and let out a sigh

"Sorry, it is the patriarch's orders. We don't want the illness in the lowlands to get up here." the voice said followed by the sound of something rolling down the hillside a yellow rock with a pair of green shorts on. Link jumped down from the cart and folded his arms; the rock halted in their tracks and stood up; beginning a staring competition between the two. The rock was first to blink his little brown eyes.

"This illness has spread here?" Zelda snapped pushing Link out of the way, he dropped on the floor and stared at Pippa under the cart, he tapped his right hip with his full hand to give a command.

"I can't let you go any further." the Goron whined putting a tiny hand out

"But we aren't sick, look at us!" Zelda roared, towering over the Goron by a head. Link dipped a hand into his tool-pouch and brought out the handkerchief of leaves and slipped two into his mouth; trying not to make his face show any of the disgust in his mouth, though he failed. Miserably.

He tapped Rosie on the shoulder and stuck his tongue out at her, she smiled."We can prove we aren't sick. Look." Rosie said taking two of the leaves from the handkerchief and dropping them on her tongue, Zelda, Cole and the little Goron were confused.

To confused to spot a little pup skulk by.

Pippa obeyed the command Master had given her and trotted to the entrance of the big den, she could smell rock-people inside but there was something else here. There were too many smells to make sense of them all. She turned her head to see Master was back on his paws now, she thought it was weird how he did not remain on all his paws like she did. Master tapped his hip again with two tiny-paws, she knew what she had to do.

She walked up to the den entrance, sniffing the sides of the cave as she heard a sound of rocks rolling, were they getting closer? She made a dash for the safety of the den wall as two rock-two-legged rolled out of the den entrance, nearly crashing into Master and the other two-legged. Shaking her head, she crept forward and kept her nose to the ground, following a strange scent, one that she thought she knew, but was not sure if she could trust it. She could smell many rock-two-legged when inside, she recognised the scent of the one in the den where Master had slept, that one had nearly squashed her a few times while she was chasing that flying ball. But there was something else here, that smell. That smell. The one that the sick-she-two-legged had, there were sick-two-legged here. She turned a corner and lifted her head; she could hear two-legged language echoing around her, bouncing off the walls. But something had peaked her interest, there was a broken case abandoned in the corner; she sniffed it, familiarising herself with the scent sniff.

"I almost did not recognise you." a voice came from behind her, she did not know the words, but knew the tone of the hot-beast-without-hot.

She turned around slowly, arching her back and growling as the little grey light that meant danger floated behind her.

"Now, now, you don't need to act like that." Flame smirked landing on her nose,  
Pippa snapped at him, chasing him in a fury of dizzy circles

"I'm ready for you this time, pup." Flame giggled pulling her tail, Pippa nearly flipped over to stamp her paws on him. But a rope fastened itself around her neck

"Got you!" a male voice snapped pulling tight on the rope to make her sit. Pippa snarled, baring her teeth at her captor, he smelled of rock-people, but was not one himself, he looked like Master.

Her captor was surprised; he had never seen a Labrador in Dodongo's Cavern before, even more so of their age, she was a brave young pup, braver than even the enemies that used to fill this place both of fur and scale. He pushed away some dark hair out of his face and crouched down to speak to her, Pippa bit his nose; leaving her teeth marks on his face.

"Ow!" he squealed covering the bridge of his nose with his hand.  
Pippa began to chew through the rope, the sound of her teeth echoing off the walls.

"Just one moment there, you." her captor grunted picking her up by her scruff. "You're tame. You have…shoes…on…" Her captor looked at the tiny boots that had been put on her feet and rubbed a thumb over the sole of a boot, there was a name stitched on a tag inside the left boot on her front leg.

_Link_

"Baby boots." her captor whispered, Pippa stopped wriggling and lifted her ears with a snort.

He placed her gently on the ground and untied the rope from around her neck. "Go on, get lost."

Pippa kicked some dust at his feet and sprinted off down the den in no real direction, before a smell wafted into her nostrils. She skidded to a stop as she heard a sneeze from nearby and flattened herself against the wall, using the shadows for safety she crept past some rock-two-legged who were sharing a howl in the light of some hot-beasts on sticks. They did not even see her go by.

She kept to the shadows as she saw many rock-two-legged in pools of sweet smelling water; they were thin for rock-two-legged and were darker than the normal ones. Fog lined the air around them, creating a dark grey cloud on the ceiling, which was a bit low for a cloud, huh? Had it fallen from the sky? Pippa sat down for a pant, watching from her place, she saw that the cloud was getting bigger, it was wrapping around the rock people like the fur beasts wore. Squeezing life out of them.

Hidden inside the cloud were little grey lights with white eyes all watching her, she growled. The rock-two-legged turned their aching heads to her as she jumped from her place into the cloud, snapping and stomping at it till a rock-two-legged caught her. Could they not see the cloud? Could they not see what it was doing to them?

"How did you get here?" the Goron asked as Pippa sunk her teeth into his hand, much to the pain of her gums

"I'll deal with her. She must have wandered in by mistake and got lost. I think she might belong to the Hylian's outside." a familiar voice said, Pippa roared a warning at him, it was the man she had bitten before.

"Hylain's?! They could get sick, they have to leave!" the Goron squealed handing Pippa over to the man

"They are only children, they are trying to talk their way up now." the man giggled "They clearly care for their pup as they put shoes on her so she would not burn her feet."

"We don't want her to be contaminated! Get her out!" the Goron snapped

"That won't happen. She can see the illness just as well as I can. What do you think she  
was snapping at?" the man said, stroking her with brush like nails down her back

"But beasts can be infected too."

"She is no beast. She is a guardian to an extent of course."

"Whatever, there you go with your tribal mumbo-jumbo again."

"What should I tell the children?"

"They can stay there tonight, but they must leave in the morning."

"Thank you, Patriarch." the man said with a smile, smashing a Deku Nut on the ground, letting both Pippa and himself vanish.

They reappeared just outside the arguing group. The man placed her down on the ground and gave her a shove forward into the dying light of outside.

Pippa sat her backside down, nobody but Master told her what to do.

"Stubborn, aren't you, girl?" the man smirked searching in his pouch on his belt for something; a small mask with a Goron face on the front, one just the size of his head.

Pippa took a sniff, this mask smelled strange, it had no smell at all, or at least, not one she recognised.

The man put it over his face and clutched his chest with a strangled scream; his entire body shook and shivered with the pain. He dropped on one knee and arched his back to left his face up to show his skin changing colour to the tone of the mask, yellow, his limbs began to swell and puff up till they were thick with muscle and strength. His pointed ears flattened against his head and shortened till they were no more than a hole on the side of his flat face, he grew shorter and fatter to the point of ripping his dark clothing. He remained still for a moment, gasping for breath before standing up.

Pippa swallowed hard. The he-two-legged was not a he-two-legged but a rock-two-legged. Was that what they were inside that rock-shell?

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I am shattered! Anyway, here's the next chapter, it seems like ages since I posted one of these.  
Anyway, what a chapter, who is this man? What is the cloud? Why does Pippa hate Flame, actually, why is he even there?! QUESTIONS!  
Can you understand Pippa's language now? Or do you still need me to show you?


	16. It's Back!

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Sixteen - It's Back! 

Link pitched a copper coloured tent up, Pippa wandered back and forth from him handing him pegs to nail into the stone ground; he could hear Zelda arguing with the Goron's with Cole why they were not allowed any further up the mountain. Their voices were drowned out with each other, yet one Goron, the one that had given Pippa back to him was quiet, not even paying attention to the argument; no, his eyes were locked onto the back of Link's head, he could feel them. Why he was staring he had no clue.

Link growled and turned on his heel, the Goron looked away. _That_ was deliberate.

"You must understand, Your Highness, we don't want to pass the illness around anymore than it is." a Goron mumbled, backing away from the red-faced female a little. "We don't even know how it passes around."

"I don't care! We are not ill, let us through!" Zelda snarled clenching her fists. Pippa rubbed her flank against Link's leg, grabbing his attention. He nodded.

"Zelda, don't you get it? They don't want us to be ill." Cole sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder

"Look at the map! We have to get up to the peak! It's important!" Zelda roared throwing her arms around, Link grabbed her wrists and shook his head.

"You can stay the night but you have to leave in the morning." the quiet Goron mumbled ushering the others away. Zelda grabbed Link's hair and yanked it hard for him to let go.

"We may be friends, Link, but I am still a princess." Zelda whispered; her voice cruel. Link rubbed his scalp and nodded humourlessly.

"Zelda!" Cole shouted when Link went back to the tent "You may be a princess, but you don't need to do things like that!"

"It was his own fault." Zelda said folding her arms

"Zelda." Cole spoke standing behind her, his voice carried a smirk, knowing he was right. "He was only trying to help and he has reinforcements."

Zelda swallowed hard at the thought of Pippa being on her case "He should know better."

"Perhaps, but maybe you should too." Cole grunted "You will be sharing with Rosie."

Night soon came around, the air turned cold and the odd speck of snow fell onto the ground only to be swallowed up by it. Pippa howled at the moon as it poked through the snow clouds, howling the tune she had come to learn would lead the right way. Link slept tight, his arms cuddled around the pillow he lay on in the dim light, Cole however, had a pillow over his head, though Link had stressed about letting Pippa come in the tent, he would not have the dog in, and he was suffering for it. He could not even concentrate on reading because he could hear her just outside the tent, shuffling so close to dig under.  
Then suddenly, the howling stopped. Link rolled over in his sleep with a moan and curled up into a ball. Wait a second. Was that…chewing he could hear? It was quiet but apparent, the gentle sawing of teeth against rope. The little scamp!

Cole made his way to the front of the tent to find the rope was still in the pup's mouth, the rest that were nailed in place were sawed in two. She had an unmistakeable doggy-grin on her face, she knew she would get into that tent.

"Drop it." Cole muttered, Pippa sat down, keeping the rope in her mouth. "I said DROP!"

She let go of the rope with a sneeze. The tent collapsed with it.

"Link, I think she's trying to kill us." Cole groaned as Pippa fought her way through the fabrics to get up close to her master.

Zelda sat up in her sleeping sack. She was cold, tired and angry, angry at herself for snapping at Link and Cole like that; even Rosie had not been very chatty to her all evening. She looked at Rosie's sleeping body, cuddled up under a blanket.

"Rosie, wake up." Zelda whispered shaking her shoulder a little, Rosie opened an eye

"What?" she grunted lifting her head off the pillow

"I'm sorry, you know, for snapping." Zelda sighed

"Don't apologise to me, apologise to him." Rosie growled turning over so her back was to the royal

"And, I'm sorry for not helping sooner. We could have-"

"Don't you even think about going there."

"I was just saying-"

"You don't know the illness, do you?! It strikes very quickly, painfully and there is nothing we can do about it. So unless you have the key to turn back time; I suggest you shut your royal mouth and go to sleep!"

"Mother said that is was a sword that turned back time. I'm going for a walk." Zelda gulped crawling out of the tent. Link was awake, pulling the tent back up with Cole, Pippa was looking fairly proud of herself from underneath the fabric of said tent; she could see the pup shaped lump.

"I didn't know she could shout like that." Cole whispered, Link sniggered, but stopped when Zelda came into the view of the lantern, his gaze turned stern as did Cole's.

"Link, can I talk to you?" Zelda asked picking the lantern up

Link shrugged and pulled on the ropes to nail them back into the ground, clinging onto his tool-pouch as he did so.

"Please?"

Link sent her a small smile and came away from the tent

They walked for some time in silence; Zelda knew that even without command, Pippa was close by, though she was never seen, her presence could be felt. Zelda looked at Link's blank face, showing no emotions, just the torch-like eyes that stared forward; though she knew that he was not willing to forgive her actions, he would, his silent nature did not give him a line in argument. As a Princess, she should have known about his condition years ago and offered help, but she was no fine ruler, only being able to do damage to family and friendships.

Link gave her a nudge on the shoulder with his elbow, she looked to the ground, her gaze locked onto the brown boots she had on her feet instead of the familiar high-heels that she normally owned. Zelda halted suddenly causing Link to stop ahead of her, though he did not turn around. He was looking at the sky in all its beauty.

"Do you know anything about the stars?" Zelda asked,

Link tilted his head and waved a hand, the other pointed to a bright constellation of a bow and arrow

"I don't think I've ever seen that one." Zelda spoke coming over to him "Is it me or is it moving?"

She spoke the truth, across the blackness, the tip of the arrow was moving across the sky, showering the land in its gentle blue light. Link shut his eyes and his lips mouthed words. Zelda took his hand, making him jump

"What did you wish for?" she asked rubbing a thumb across the back of his hand

Link laughed and shook his head

"Oh, come on!" Zelda whined, pulling on his hand jokingly.

Link shook his head again and looked back at the stars. All forgiven.

"We should be heading back." Zelda sighed turning to leave. Link remained where he was, staring at the sky. "Link, come on."

He refused to move. She whirled around till she was in front of him and caught sight of his face; his eyes were puffy and bloodshot and his cheeks were damp. He was crying.

"Why are you crying?" she asked bringing a hand to his cheek, he leaned against her hand and sniffed.

She realized. Apart from the sudden sense of despair and fear from losing his mother, Link had sucked it in to take care of Rosie and work on his task on Death Mountain. It had sunk in now, the understanding that he was never going to see his mother again along with the emotional attachment being told he was a Half-Shadow and would be frowned upon by the Sheikah tribes; unless their father was a high up man, then they would be forced to leave, stealing and begging till the end of their days.

"Link, I'm sorry. I know I'm getting your hopes up." Zelda whispered,

Link sniffed again and gave her a hug around her shoulders, warming her in grip. He nodded with a small smile though his face was still wet.

"Let's go back." Zelda said slipping her hand into his,

Link did not move. His stance had completely changed and a growl rose in his throat. Zelda saw it. A pair of menacing red eyes that belonged to the beasts that roamed the night.

"Link, you don't have your bow. You can't fight it off." Zelda wailed coming behind him. Link bent down, keeping his eyes locked onto the monster's and picked up some sand in his hand. The monster came into sight.

Link choked on its breath. His arrow was lodged in its chest. But how?! He had killed it! He had seen it die!

The Wolfos roared at him and pounced, he pushed Zelda back and threw the dirt into its face, making it cry out and land on its front. Link gave Zelda another push back with an audible growl. She ran.

Link and the Wolfos circled each other around the lantern; his fingers were searching through his tool-pouch for something useful. Without his arrows or bow, his tool-pouch in a fight was as good as useless. The Wolfos charged, zigzagging its way forward and lashing a claw narrowly towards his face. Pippa jumped out from her hiding place onto the Wolfos and chewed its left ear; her claws dug into its back, but the Wolfos threw her off and let her body hit some nearby rocks. Link screamed out as the monster turned on him.

A twang of a bowstring.

An arrow zipped past Link's ear and landed in the rock. The Wolfos dodged it and flipped back over away from the arrow. Link pulled it out of the ground and dropped it with a gasp.

That thing was hot!

His fingers were burnt on the fiery red feathers and the tip was made out of red hot rock with a flame that refused to go out, even in rock did it cause the land to burn hotter than the sun. He wafted his hands and picked up the arrow again, the burns on his hands giving him protection against the heat. The Wolfos kept its distance from the flame as Link crept over to pick up his unconscious pup, whilst he reached for her, the thought he saw again, the tail of a green sock hat vanish behind a boulder.

The Wolfos drew its knifelike claws out of its paws and scraped them across the ground. Link raised the arrow up and scored the monster's side with the flame, scorching the fur black and grey. It snarled at him, rearing up on its back legs and yowling a call. Link dived into a dip in the huge red walls that the sun was beginning to tan again, the monster roared and dashed towards him, baring its teeth and claws to its prey. Link rolled the side and ran out of the dip; the monster slammed a paw onto his back, forcing him to the ground.

Something roared in the background; Link looked up to find the Wolfos was still, its body poised to attack a man in a Wolfos mask.

"You've met a terrible fate, haven't you?" the man in the Wolfos mask smirked throwing a little black nut over to him so that it bounced off his face. The Wolfos howled and dug its claws into Link's shirt, lifting him up off the ground without much need for strength. The man chuckled and vanished on the spot, the heavy camper's sack went with him. He reappeared with his hands around Link's wrists and pulled him away, making him drop poor Pippa and tear his shirt off his back. The black nut began to pour out thick white smoke.

When it cleared, they were gone. Leaving nothing but a pair of dazed canines.

"Cole, Cole, wake up!" Zelda screamed shaking her brother's shoulders

"Wha-?" Cole murmured opening a sleepy eye

"Link's in trouble, he's unarmed and a Wolfos is attacking him! Get up!" Zelda shouted, Cole pushed her off his chest and glanced at his sister with half open eyes.

"It was probably a nightmare." Cole yawned. The sound of Pippa's urgent barking echoed up the mountain.

"Does it sound like a nightmare?!" Zelda shrieked pulling Cole's legs out of the tent.

Pippa stood her ground, she was still a little off her feet when she woke, but the he-dog was much more awake and angrier than she was. Where was Master?! She could smell him, but not see him. She was beginning to panic. Suddenly a rock-two-legged rolled down the hill narrowly crushing her

"Come on!" he roared beating his chest with his paws, the he-dog pounced trying to dig his claws into the rock-two-legged but it was useless, the claws became wedged between the cracks on his back and with a quick roll, the beast was flattened, but not yet beaten. It snarled and pulled itself up on the bones that were not broken. Rosie roared but another he-dog jumped in, going for the neck and sinking his teeth in till it stopped moving.

"The illness is getting stronger, you should flee home." the Goron sighed as the wolf wiped the blood off his muzzle.

The wolf shook his head and gave Pippa a wink that made all her fur stand on end.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Pippa is a smart little thing isn't she? And the Wolfos, it came back! How did that happen?! The Goron/man seems to know the Wolf are they Master and pet or is there something else there? Fire Arrows, ouch. And who whisked Link away...? *Shudder* Also I saw the Zelda U trailer and like every fan of the series, I screamed the nearest people deaf, but something occurred to me that is a scary **coincidence**, the Link in the trailer used a **bow** and what does mine use...? That is scary.


	17. Mage And Mirror

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Seventeen - Mage and Mirror

Link opened his eyes, everything was blurry. His head was thumping from a knock to it. He held his head, rubbing a hand through his damp locks with a groan.

"You got lucky." a voice mumbled over the crackle of a fire. Link groaned again and sat up, his legs covered by a thin blanket and his shoulders wrapped up in a fur coat. His vision recovered. They were lying on grass. The most emerald coloured grass he had ever seen. He rubbed his hands over the dew drop lawn, letting it tickle his fingers. He turned his gaze to the sky to find it was clear and brighter than the cloudy winter mornings that had come round; but in it, was a pale moon, orange in colour.

He put his hands to his face to find he was wearing a white mask that sheltered his eyes and nose. His hawk mask. He recognised the touch of the feathers against his fingers and the scratch mark of Pippa's teeth on the corner.

"The Wolfos's claws did some damage." the voice spoke, Link nodded and stood up, a little shaky at first but made his way across the short distance to the fire. Hidden behind the Wolfos Mask was a middle-aged man with light brown, almost ginger hair; his eyes were tiny dots inside a pair of staring triangular eye sockets. Link flinched

"There's nothing to worry about, Link. I am a friend." the man said poking the fire with a stick. "Quite a nice power you have there."

Link folded his arms and blew some hair out of his face in remark.

"I go by the Happy Mask Salesman. I go around the land selling my masks. That mask you wear interests me. I have a nose for them." the man chatted "I know who you are, Link. The Mask of Truth told me."

Link leaned forward slightly and removed his mask, holding it in his hands like it were a gem, he thought he had lost this in Castle Town.

"The mask you have is very finely crafted. Wouldn't you prefer to be a Happy Mask Salesman than a Mage?" the Happy Mask Salesman asked standing up to show his clothes were made of the finest purple cloth with gold edging.

Link lifted an eyebrow and looked at his mask again. It was true he had spent a long time crafting the mask, but he did not think it was that good. He was still confused; what power did he refer too? They were camping in Hyrule Field in the winter…oh… How was he a Mage exactly?

"You have questions?" the Happy Mask Salesman quizzed, knocking a branch out of the fire. The branch landed on the grass blazing it brown. Link let out a roar and clutched his left arm as it pulsed red, crusting the skin in a burn. The Happy Mask Salesman marched over and with his hand tucked safely in his jacket, picked up the fiery arrow and tossed it over to Link, he missed and the point stabbed into the dirt, Link let out a shriek as blood dribbled from his hand.

Link pulled the arrow out of the ground with his bare hands and threw it back into the fire to let it light up fully as it was before. He growled at the Happy Mask Salesman, the man was wearing a large smirk on his face.

"A shield is strongest against things that hit it on the outside; even the falling snow doesn't land in here." the Happy Mask Salesman spoke

Link glared at him and rubbed his arms, he still wanted to know how he had done this.

The Happy Mask Salesman laughed "You've never done this before? That must mean that you're still under her watch then. He thought as much; she's doing her job to well."

Link twisted his head round so sharply his neck cracked. This man was toying with him, speaking in riddles that he did not understand.

"Now, now, no need to get annoyed with me." the Happy Mask Salesman moaned rolling his eyes "Let me tell you a story."

Link rolled his eyes, he was getting bored of all these people knowing stories

"_There is a legend among men and legend among the Goddesses of Good, a boy clothed in green saved two lands with the help of three elemental arrows, fire, ice and light, but could never, no matter how long he searched find a way through the Chamber of Birds, leading to the Realm of Heroes. The Realm of Heroes gateway is guarded by a 7-foot god and his watchful winged friend. All heroes have other forms,_ Link, _for no human is allowed in as they can lead to impurity in the animals that live there._ What is your other form, Link? You have magical power that is beyond the best shaman's control and you have the Hero's Courage that is passed down from one green-clad hero to the next. What will hide your human form from the 7-foot god? A cat, a bird, a bug?"

Link stared at his mask and shrugged. It was the first time he had ever heard that story.

"Perhaps the answer will come in time, hmm? Come on, have something to eat."

Nearby the little green bird watched from a large snow covered evergreen tree, it shook snow off its feathers and lifted its wings up above its head, the tips of the feathers changing from the blue tinge to a fiery red to the point of glowing like a little flame. It flapped away into the storm of snow approaching from the north.

Pippa growled and snarled in frustration, Master's scent was dying as it got older and she could not work out where he had gone. The rock-two-legged and the he-dog had left her behind by heading further up the rocks but she had remained searching for Master. Her nose was constantly knocking against the rocks and pebbles on the floor but found nothing, her feet were getting hot and sore with all the pacing and heat coming from below for she had torn the chewy-feet on her paws out of boredom and annoyance, not to mention she was thirsty.

"Link!" a she-language barked over the rock, Pippa scratched her ear with her hind leg, that language; that was the she-two-legged that shared the den where Master had slept. She was about to bark a reply till she felt a pair of tiny paws land on her head, she snapped as a tiny feathered-dog dropped onto her nose, staring at her with the beady eyes that she had got used to at the den; this one had longer legs though.

He whistled at her, shifting from side to side on her nose like it had an itch that he could not scratch, she knew the feeling, but for some reason, those moves were making a little sense and the tune he was whistling was that strange howling from the fat-bone. She watched the little feathered-dog scratch his claws into the rock under a huge boulder where Master's scent was going through; she cocked her head and stood up pawing the earth the best she could with tired paws…interesting, the dirt was much cooler here and softer too. Without another moment's hesitation she began to dig furiously around the boulder, moving the cool dirt as fast as possible, burying the bird feathered-dog more than a few times as he moved some pebbles and other objects with greater strength than an animal his size could. Suddenly the rocks around the boulder began to move on their own and the shadow it cast grew. The bird snapped its beak shut on Pippa's tail and pulled her back from her digging with the strength of a fully grown two-legged so that she slid into the sun as it dropped, cracking the floor like it were ice. A few puffs of steam came from the cracks before they grew under Pippa's weight and gave way, dropping her down into steam and water below.

"Zelda, are you sure?" Cole yawned holding out a dagger as if he was expecting an army to come after him.

"I'm sure, look, you can see…the footprints…in…what on earth did Pippa do?!" Zelda shrieked spotting a long brown tail vanish underground

"Ruined the land would be a safe guess…" Cole whispered as steam fogged the air up near their faces so suddenly it almost burned

"What do you mean?" Rosie asked stepping forward slightly to hear the ground make a loud crack under her feet. She swallowed hard and swapped shoulders with the pack she had.

"Nobody move." Zelda whispered, Cole and Rosie stared daggers at her for a moment. Zelda's gaze was focused on a tiny green bird sitting on a boulder where the cracks were coming from; she did not like the look on its face. It fluttered down onto the cracks and jumped once.

Steam shot through the walls and water erupted out of the floor before suddenly caving in, dropping huge boulders down into a fast flowing river heading south. Cole grasped the side of the chasm with Rosie clinging onto his legs.

Zelda landed in the water with a splash.

She surfaced straight away, to find that her brother and Link's sister were disappearing from sight.

"Zelda!" Cole shouted, one hand dropping from the safety of the chasm wall. The bird landed on his remaining hand, turning its tiny head downward to look at him "Don't you even think about it."

It did. It really did.

The bird clawed at his fingers tightly, pecking the back of his hand till he let go and vanished down into the water with Rosie still clinging onto him.

"A bit hostile, isn't it? I thought you were honourable, more honourable than I." a man clothed in green chuckled; the bird flew up to him and landed on his shoulder, scoffing out loud. "Oh, that's right; you're the one that has forgotten how to treat people with kindness."

The bird pecked his cheek under his wolf mask and clawed at the cloth on his shoulder, the man lifted a finger for the bird to land on

"You may as well fly home. I'll see you when they get there. We'll get into the Realm of Heroes again."

The bird tilted its head to the side and puffed up its wings as if to shrug

"I need to stay in Hyrule till they meet up. Link needs this." the man mumbled holding a bow in his hand. Link's bow.

The bird flew to the ground and shook his head; growing in size and shape in a flash of blue and white light; the man covered his eyes when a young man, the same age as he, appeared out of the light wearing a bird mask, a long yellow beak sheltering his nose and mouth and a pair of sky blue eyes were peering over the top of the beak; a crop of blond hair was poking out from behind a cover of green feathers with red and blue tips that glowed eerily.

"You know, I prefer you as a bird. Much less hassle." the man laughed, the other folded his arms "Oh, come on. Take a joke."

"How do you plan to get to Termina without getting wet?" the bird masked man asked tapping a brown booted foot

"I don't forget songs." the wolf masked man giggled pulling out a small woodwind instrument.

"Yeah, but you get lost in the Lost Woods fairly easily." the bird masked man smirked "Now that is a joke!"

"Oh, ha-ha, my sides are sore with laughing." the wolf masked man groaned blowing a few notes on the instrument. A pair of white feathered wings sprouted out from his back, ripping through his cape and shirt of his tunic

"Fine, I'll meet you in Termina." the bird masked man said rolling his eyes, stepping back to take his fully feathered form "Don't take to long, I need you to keep focused."

"See you there." the wolf masked man whispered waving hand to the green speck into the sky as he vanished in a fury of white feathers.

Link and the Happy Mask Salesman had been ignoring each other for some time; the snow was storming down on the shield to the point where Link was starting to shiver. He looked out to the horizon being covered in the white flecks, in a small cavern he thought he could see something reflecting off the fire. It was not that far away, but it was across Zora's River, though the river itself was frozen solid, he did not really want to go out there.

"Believe in your strengths, for every meeting there is a parting soon to follow. Whether that parting be for a time or forever is entirely up to you." the Happy Mask Salesman smirked turning his face around to give Link a fright, so much so he fell on his back.

When he sat up, the man was gone, his bag left behind; with all the masks missing.

He stood up and tightened the straps on the coat before reaching into the fire to grab the arrow from inside. His small camp would be safe in the shield.

He ventured outside the shield, the snowflakes pelted like rocks against his body and he felt like he was dragging a ton of weight upon leaving it but he kept moving, using the ever burning flame of the fire arrow to lead him to the reflecting surface beyond the water; though he kept his pace up; half running and half skating across the water with his leather boots.

When he got to the cavern, he sneezed only to hear a child sneeze at the same time nearby, but there was no one around; no matter how much he wafted his arrow, he could see no one. He walked slowly forward, his snow covered boots echoing down a tunnel that sounded like it lasted for ever till he came upon a huge silver object, the light of his arrow half blinded him with the glint it gave off

A mirror? Here?

It was true; a full sized mirror was cemented to the ground in the middle of the cavern.

Link let out an audible shriek

It was not an echo that sneezed with him; it was his refection, a _child_ version of himself was staring at him through the mirrors reflective surface, copying every move that he made.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I feel so ill! But this is different, you now know a few things that I know many of you have been guessing, but now even more questions have been added to this list haven't there? How did Link create the shield? The Wolf-Masked man and the Bird know each other? Is one of them the Hero of Time? Are they working together? They don't seem that friendly with each other. And the mirror? It shows yourself as a child? Interesting...does it symbolize something? Innocence, mental age? What?  
That's a lot of questions to think about this week isn't it?


	18. Cold Memories

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Eighteen - Cold Memories

The child in the mirror was him. This he was certain. He was also certain that this was a younger version of him. He could tell; his hair was thick and almost white blond in colour, his eyebrows were raised and the corners of his mouth were upward as he stared at his older version with curiosity. Link waved the arrow in his hand a little; the child did the same with the stick to the point of giggling and showing a few teeth as most was just gum. He let out a chuckle and pressed a hand up to the mirror's surface, the child did the same; whimpering at the fact that he could not reach up to where Link's hand was to the point of standing on his toes in his blue feet-tee pyjamas. Link crouched down and smiled, though the child was a refection; it looked and acted so real.

The child clasped a hand around his wrist through the mirror.

Link nearly let out a shriek as the child gripped the fabric of the coat, the eyes, his eyes changed from the clearest blue that he was used to; to the purple colour he had gotten to know.

_"Ezekiel, how could you do this to me?!"_ a voice shouted; that was his mother's voice!

_"I'm sorry, Malon. I did it for your safety." another voice pleaded,_ the child in the mirror kept tight a hold of his wrist as a picture began to form behind him; the child faded away as the image came but he could still feel the tiny fingers hanging onto his wrist almost desperately, forcing him to stay in his crouched position, it did not hurt him, he was used to the stance with shooting so much.

_"I don't care about you being a Sheikah! Why did you not tell me sooner?!" Malon roared, the ends of a purple and white dress dusted the rug as she paced inside the house. The house was well lit with candles, the wax dripping down their holders on the stone walls and setting there in long thin lines; there was a small table in the corner with three chairs huddled around it while the forth was occupied by a man in a long sleeve shirt, said sleeves covering his hands, his hair was dark brown in colour with the odd spike flicking out above his eyes, similarly to how Link's tuft went._

_"They are going to murder me. I trust you enough to know that I am Sheikah. I saw them, they know about us. I have to leave or they will kill us both." a brown haired man with a tall build spoke, getting up from his seat and holding her hands, rubbing the backs with his thumbs "And I don't want to see you hurt."_

_"It's too late for that." Malon whispered unbuttoning a small tanned jacket to show her stomach was just sticking out through her dress; the tail of her orangey scarf was wrapped around it to hide it._

_"Oh. Malon…I'm sorry." the man sighed, touching her forehead with his own_

_"That information would have been nice to know earlier. I know the laws of nature. The child would never survive." Malon mumbled, letting a tear trickle down her cheek "I don't want to lose our child. We must find a way to keep it. There must be a way too."_

_"Malon, this is dangerous!" the man yelled pointing to her stomach "Not only have I endangered your life, I have endangered that one too! Not only will the child die, you will too."_

_His mother lowered her head, letting ginger locks fall down over her wet face before fleeing the scene to hear the man that was his father sigh; he looked out into the night and clasped his hands together in prayer through the shirt, lifting it to show tattoos on the backs of his hands in full view. Though he could not hear his words, the tears were running down his face._

Even if this is what Link just wanted to see from those red eyes, it showed that they were just as uncertain of fate as he was. But it had somewhat answered his question, though they had wanted the child, he could tell in their eyes that they wanted the best for 'it' at the time, did something happen to try and destroy it? Or did someone beyond their control have other plans?

Something cast a shadow behind him; he could just see their refection in the mirror as the image faded. Leaving the child still clinging onto his wrist to return; without a warning, a huge crack began to form in the mirror, going right across the surface from the child's beating heart, with each beat, the mirror shifted uncomfortably. The child held onto Link's thumb with his hands, till the feeling of something solid began to tickle Link's palm.

The child let go as he raised his head up to look skyward. And the mirror smashed with an almighty crash. Behind the mirror, Link spotted, was a small shape, carved into the stone behind the mirror, it was of a small tree without leaves and with few branches that could carry fruit on them. It was a sapling, buried in the ground with roots reaching below it like they were tracks. Link traced a finger across them, till they met up in a swirl. The design was simple and beautiful for just roots. He found himself staring at it and half ignored the shadow that was slowly coming towards him. As he did so, he opened his hands to find a small pink blossom, no bigger than his thumb in the middle of his hand. He had never seen this flower before.

The ice on the lake shifted a little with an agitated growl as something thumped against it from underneath. This patch of ice was thinner than the rest but still took some force to break open with the frantic slashes from claws.  
Pippa broke through and pulled herself up onto the hard-wet, shaking most of the wet off her coat she offered help to the she-two-legged trying to pull herself out of the wet, she looked much colder. Pippa helped her onto the hard-wet and nudged her arm to snuggle underneath to warm her as best as she could, but the she-two-legged was tired and cold, she did not have the strength of Master; he had much practice fighting the currents of the warmer wets near the den.

She missed Master. It was not like him to leave her unless instructions were given first. But there was a glimmer of hope, his scent was strong, he was nearby and he was okay. Her nose told the story for her; a he-two-legged had helped him by chasing away the he-dog and had dragged him over to a same place around here. She made a move to explore through the white-wet but it was getting harder to see but she could see hot-beast nearby. If she could get the she-two-legged there, she would be safe. Though Pippa was not too keen on her, she meant a lot to Master and he was the Alpha, even if her gut told her to not bother with the she-two-legged, Master would not like it if she left her.

Pippa considered her options for a moment; she was too small to lift, carry or even drag the she-two-legged far, but she would not wake, though she was not not-breath; that was good. She howled, long and loud against the snow for help. Upon this point, a paw stroked the back of her head, making her jump and turn on them.

This he-two-legged smelt strange, like feathered-dogs, and only of feathered-dogs, perhaps he had eaten a lot of feathered-dogs recently to cover his scent, but that would only attract predators. He slipped his paws under the she-two-legged sides and lifted her off the white-wet before walking forward to the hot-beast following the trail that Master had left with his feet, like two trenches.

The bird-masked-man held onto Zelda in his arms, holding her close to his chest to keep her warm; as he laid her by the fire, Pippa came close to him, sniffing him constantly like she was unsure of his intentions. He wrapped her up in the blankets inside a makeshift shield, though it allowed those with kindness to pass through; it was very sturdy and made everything within it well. How Link had made it, he had no clue, though he knew the boy's path, he knew not to intervene yet. The wolf-masked-man was being foolish trying to speak to him now but perhaps he was right, maybe he had lost touch with his human connections over the years and forgotten what it was to approach someone in this form, he had been stuck as a bird for a long time unlike the wolf-masked-man's curse, he had only had that form for a number of years, two decades if not slightly more.

Though he hated to think it and the fact that her daughter was lying in the grass next to him, he could not help to want to blame the Queen, Queen Zelda for this after all, he could live with a man coming to visit, but he had come to her as a friend days before she took the throne, warning her, and she ignored him. That was when the illness, no, what did they call it in Termina? Oh yes, they called it the Plague of the dead first spread to Hyrule. Very few were healthy these days and those who were ill were dying faster due to all the lost souls being sucked up and it was only going to get worse.

His attention was suddenly focused on the growling furball that was standing next to him, she had not made any move to attack, her little head was too confused. She was doing her job regardless of not having instruction from her parents or master. The plague could not come near him as her eyes saw all. The bird-masked-man wrapped Zelda up in a blanket and pushed her close to the fire before transforming back to his birdy self and flying away.  
Pippa chased him up to where the grass finished, she had decided that it was too wet to go out of this place right now and instead nuzzled up to the she-two-legged by the fire. She was really cold. Really cold. She needed Master's help. She would have to brave the storm.

Link stood up and pocketed the flower carefully, before tightening his grip on the arrow as a white pup came into sight, its shadow already at his feet. Before Link could get into a stance for any means of attack, the pup sneezed and shook their fur to reveal the chocolate colour he had gotten to know. Pippa bounded over to him, putting her paws on his legs with a whine.

Link nodded and sheltered Pippa in his coat.

"Zelda…Zelda, can you hear me?" a voice echoed to her, she was warm, nice and cosy in this place, though it was a little dark, it was comfortable, yet no matter how much she tossed and turned, she could not sleep. She sat up in her place, wearing a beautiful purple gown from her wardrobe and spotted a lush green knoll nearby, certainly within walking distance.

"Zelda!" the voice shouted, becoming all distorted on her deaf ears, she began to run towards the knoll, ignoring the voices, until she halted, so suddenly that she felt the rush of wind slap her in the back.

The beat of a drum was what she could hear; it was neither close, nor far away. There was the wind again, but this time it was much softer against her cheek, she began to feel colder as the beating of the drum continued, it was getting louder and sounded less echoed, like she was standing right next to it. Light pierced in the blackness, causing her to lift up an arm to shield her tired eyes. The wind was coming through there.

"Zelda!" cried the voice, also coming from the gap the light was making, and it was only stretching further across the black, before she could turn to run to the knoll, the light seized her ankles with a pair of tiny hands, pulled her towards the gap and through it.

Her vision faded.

Zelda let out a quiet moan and opened her heavy eyelids up slightly, she was in a grassy area, had she made it? No, that drumming was very close to her ear, she tilted her head up a little to find Link staring at her from above, he had rosy cheeks that were slightly scarred from the snow slashing them. She tried to turn over but she could feel something solid blocking her from moving far, she moved her hand slowly down it to push herself up to find an odd lump at the end with five smaller lumps on the end of that, they moved at her touch.

"Shh." a whisper came, Zelda's head darted upwards, that came from Link's mouth. "Shh."

He was holding her. Zelda's eyes opened wide; she was damp and freezing cold in her clothes, but she was wrapped in fur, the beating drum she had been hearing was Link's heartbeat, she was inside his coat, her head leaning against his chest. She gave him a slap across the cheek, making him wince from the slap and the fact that his cheeks were sore already from the snow and cuts.

"Wh-what do you think you are doing?!" Zelda shivered scampering towards the fire, nearly throwing a hand into it.

Link rubbed his arms with his hands and quivered in his seat

"I know I'm cold! But that isn't the point! You were hugging me inside your coat!" Zelda screamed standing up to point a finger at him "You should know better!"

Link stood up, his facial expression unchanging from the concern it held, and repeated the action he had before, crunching his body as much as he could before falling in the grass with his eyes clenched shut.

Zelda was not paying attention. "It is not princess-like to be handled in such a matter, no matter how you look at it!"

Link did not move, but opened an eye and sniggered. Pippa came out from the other side of the fire and pawed at Link's arm, crying because he lay so still.

Zelda sniffed and stepped forward slightly, her body so cold everything was numb, she could not even feel her knees knock against the ground. Link jumped up suddenly and took his coat off, he threw it over Zelda's shoulders and hoisted her up into his arms, cradling her in his heat the best he could, rocking her slightly

"Link! Put-put me down!" Zelda shrieked struggling in his grasp, Link just held on tighter, chattering his teeth for effect.

"You could have died, Zelda." Cole grumbled as Pippa marched over to him, Zelda stopped struggling for a moment and glanced over Link's shoulder; Cole and Rosie were drinking from mugs while wrapped in thick blankets. "We've been shouting your name for a good hour."

"That doesn't give him any excuse!" Zelda growled pulling Link's hair

"Zelda, you have developed hypothermia. You were unconscious when he found you." Rosie shivered, sipping from the cup.

"How on earth did you work that out?!" Zelda snarled dropping on the floor

"Link preformed it perfectly. He helped me and Cole out of the frozen water not long after he started to help you." Rosie replied glaring over her cup at the princess "And I thought someone like you would appreciate his help not try and punch him for it."

"I have to agree with Rosie on this one, Link is only trying to help you. You should know that he would not do anything to harm you." Cole sneezed as Link took his cup away.

Guilt washed over Zelda again. Yet Link seemed happy as normal, not wasting a frown on her as he warmed a cup of snow over the fire arrow.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Anyway, so that mirror huh? What weird properties it has. It shows the past before smashes, and what of that flower it gave? What does that do? But Zelda nearly died of the cold there if Link hadn't done what he did, is she acting this way because she's hiding something or is she just shy of him now? You can only play the Princess Card so much, Cole hasn't played that card yet Zelda, he's the smart one! But the Bird-Masked man has made another appearance, but who is he?! Is he the Hero of Time or is he someone else?


	19. Found Friendship

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Nineteen - Found Friendship

Cole awoke in the middle of the night to find Link staring out of the shield to the dark storm of white outside, he let out a sigh and lowered his head before lying on his side as far away from the fire as possible, though his body did not shiver; Cole could see he was cold. He had given up every spare coat, blanket and drop of energy into warming the others up back to their core temperatures; leaving him with nothing but pure exhaustion.  
Cole sat up and pushed the blanket off himself, Link turned his head and shook his hands, Cole wrapped the blanket around Link's shoulders.

"You don't have to stay awake, Link. I'll keep watch for a few hours." Cole whispered tilting his head to the side as he looked at his tired friend, still tender from the loss of his mother; he still felt the need to be protective of those around them. But Link's face said it all; the black rings around his eyes were dark and his cheeks were no longer red but had entered a whole new state of pale and his breathing was deep, showing he was only staying awake out of sheer will. Even as he watched Cole stare at him, his eyelids were dropping before he snapped them open again.

Cole led him to the blanket that he had lay on by the fire and forced Link to sit by it, though Link protested, he did as he was told. Cole sat next to him and sighed, poking the fire with a stick.

"You know, Link, since you don't have much to lose, I can help you get a job in the castle, get you a decent home; I'm sure Mother and Father would reward you well for your services right now, I mean, you could make a decent archer on the battlements to well, a shaman for the wounded and sick." Cole chatted; he turned his head to find Link's was leaning on his shoulder, his eyes shut. Cole smiled "There is only so much good in our world. I hope one day, all people will be like you."

He gently lifted Link's head off his shoulder and lay him down on the ground, Pippa, who had been lying next to Zelda on Link's command, came trotting over and curled up next to him. The fire cracked and spat out a few embers, Cole rubbed his eyes, he thought he had just seen a pair of white feathery wings curled up around Pippa's sleeping body.

The storm raged on for a few days. Link had been the only one strong enough to brave the storm to find food, bringing back winter berries and a few fish that had been unlucky to be frozen stiff in the water. Pippa had gone with him without fault and would often be the one hunting the food for Link to catch and she always got a treat for her help when the meal was ready.

Cole suspected that the girls were not seeing eye to eye recently as they would glare over their bowls during meals around the fire and silently roar threats at the other female by thumping their cups on the floor or clenching their fists together as they passed one another, Pippa, oddly enough, seemed to be keeping the fights at bay, growling at the girls when the air was filled with hate. Link kept his distance, staying close to Cole; Cole could see he had had enough of getting himself hurt while stopping Zelda from hurting others, even though his heart had been in the right place, however, under the cut and bruised face, he wore the happiest smile that anyone could see, Cole would be lying if this did not scare him a little.

Link skinned a fish with a small knife he had found with the bag, he kept shivering as he worked, shuffling around near the fire when his hands got to numb to work, though he was wearing a coat and was wrapped in a blanket, he could not stop shaking with cold; he had found friendship with Cole, enough to be able to take his blanket without thinking he would be put for treason, not that Cole minded. Cole watched him work the tiny silver scales off the fish; each stroke careful and precise.

When the girls were asleep, the lads shared the fire, one of which that Link had kept stocked up by finding sticks; though the arrow in the middle was creating all the heat. Cole was silent as Link stared into the fire, his knees were raised and his cheek was leaning on his right knee as he slowly dropped to sleep, letting Cole take the first watch  
"Link, how would we get to the circle on the map? You've scouted it, but found nothing but grass." Cole asked, giving Link a shake to wake him.

Link opened an eye and shrugged.

"I mean, what's past that ridge on the horizon?" Cole whispered lying down to look at the clouds "Anyway, how did you create this shield? You never said."

Link chewed his lip and shrugged again, but pointed to his mask that Pippa was pawing at the other side of the fire before covering his eyes with his hands. Cole looked at his feet while he tried to decode Link's message

"You were wearing your mask when you created this?" Cole asked,

Link nodded and continued to act, pressing his hands together and rubbing them on a cheek, shutting his eyes as he did so.

"You were asleep too? Perhaps your body created it because Pippa wasn't around." Cole shrugged, Link frowned, he had not had Pippa very long, but it was possible, though he had never heard of it, it was wise to have protection or at least the feeling of protection when you slept, knowing someone or something was keeping an eye out for intruders or predators. It was a thought.

The next morning, the snow had stopped falling to reveal the entire land covered in a coat of white, every branch in the trees were covered, letting small icicles grow on the cold. Link arose first finally being able to see the land clearly without having to squint through snow. He smiled and looked around, if his memory was serving him well, he would be heading towards the centre of the lake as the map told him, but as Cole had said the night before, there was nothing but water and an entrance to Zora's Domain there. He stood up to find Rosie stirring under her blanket

"Morning." she yawned stretching her arms up

Link waved in reply and fed the fire another stick that Pippa had not noticed and stolen already.

"I've been thinking about what the map said." Rosie sighed crawling out of the blankets, Link rolled his eyes, again with the map? "We never got to the circle, which was at the peak of the mountain; maybe we could have gotten a clue there to what to do here."

Link turned his head, it sounded like she had an idea.

"A story in my book, which well, is to wet to read now, said that there are two lands, parallel to each other and were connected by two gates at either end, the first was discovered in the woods, the second in the water. I don't think we are looking for an item." Rosie said, smiling a little "I think we are looking for the other gate."

Link stared ahead, scanning the walls of the lake for any sign of such a gate then he glanced at the fire arrow, he held a cruel smile on his face and rubbed the underside of his boots to reveal the knife grapples from underneath them.

"You are not going to melt the ice are you?" Rosie sighed as Link tugged at the blade, forcing it to turn on its side, showing it was much larger than what everyone had thought to be just a thumb in size, no, this was almost a dagger in size. Before Rosie could grab his wrist, Link had taken the arrow from within the fire and had began to clumsily march out of the shield towards the ice.

Cole opened an eye to find Link standing with his feet together on the ice, his arms outstretched as he braced his already unsteady body for its unsteady journey on the ice. Link lowered his arm holding the arrow to the ice and touched it, letting it melt and expand. He lifted up again and brought the arrow to his face as if he were to prepare to fence with it. Cole flinched as the arrow appeared to grow in size to twice the length of his arm in a beam of orange light from the morning sun. Link turned around to show the others, almost flabbergasted himself at his work.

"He's going to show off." Rosie grumbled from behind Cole,

He smirked "Link's not the type to show off."

"You don't live with him." Rosie sighed "He's had many winters."

Link skated out, keeping the arrow high as he crossed the ice on one foot, shoving a small trail of snow out of the way, marking a zigzagged path far out to the edges of the lake itself, a good mile at least. Cole had no idea why Rosie was so concerned, though he did not understand what Link was doing; Rosie continued to growl beside him, quietly warning Link she was going to tear him apart when he got close enough.  
Link smirked and lowered his stance as he came to a stop, before setting the arm holding the arrow on his back, then, ever so gently, he lowered the arrow to the ice, running the flame across it.

Cole had honestly never seen anyone skate as fast as Link did, his feet mere blurs as the ice melted behind him, showing the crystal pool of water that was underneath; he followed his outline almost to a T, allowing himself to spin and jump whenever he got the chance

"He's a show off, a real show off." Rosie snarled, grinding her teeth as her brother flew into the air again, landing on one foot with the other at an angle, the arrow tracing the ground in front of him as he skated backwards around the corner, whooping with heaps of laughter.

"He's only having fun." Cole chuckled,

Rosie glared him "Fun? Fun?! Look at him, he's smirking!"

"So what? If I could skate that fast and that freely as him, I'd be the Hylian champion. We hold competitions in the grounds sometimes; you and Link should compete."

"Link and I kept low profiles so Link could steal easier." Rosie sighed "Perhaps another year."

Link skidded to a stop, showering the edge of the shield with snow. He removed the blade from his shoe to set it back into the original position. Cole clapped much to the anger of the young woman standing next to him.

"What was the point in that?" Rosie snarled

"Look!" Cole squeaked pointing towards the walls of the edge of the lake. A small archway was chiselled into the wall; out of it, from what Cole could see, was a wide sea. Link came past them and tripped over Rosie's outstretched leg

"Honestly, you are nothing but a big show off." Rosie groaned as Link spat out grass

"I don't think that-" Cole stammered

"Oh please, that was showing off." Rosie grumbled.

Zelda was last to wake, at this point, Link was using a knife to chip away through the bark of a young evergreen tree, his actions had his wrists paining and the knife blunt without much to show for it but it was better than nothing, they needed timbre and proper tools to make a raft and it would take years at this rate. She walked up to him, but she knew he had not forgotten what happened the other night, though he smiled in acknowledgement of her presence, that is all she received. Zelda flinched slightly, Link was listening, but he was continuing with his work, which was somewhat irregular for him, normally he would stop.

"Um…hello." Zelda mumbled

Link glanced up and blew his hair out of his eyes, though his hands kept moving.

"I wanted to say, sorry, again, um…we haven't…um…spoke much since well…then." Zelda said cursing every word that came out of her mouth, 'spoke' being one that got the most out of her; Link was a listener by default.

Link stopped working and folded his arms, staring at her with eyebrows raised

She swallowed hard "Um…I'll just…leave you alone then."

Link nodded and continued to slam and saw the knife into the trunk, spraying the snow with wood chips and tree blood.

Zelda came back into the shield, her brother was staring, no, glaring at her from the other side of the fire, Rosie went over to Link to keep her distance from Zelda, they both knew that if left alone the girl's would tear each other apart.

"What? I said I was sorry for the way I reacted the other day." Zelda sighed, rubbing her face with her hands

"You don't get it do you?" Cole spoke, his voice as sharp as a knife "All the times Link has ever touched you, is because he's trying to help you, yet he always gets hurt by your fist."

"Cole, we are royalty." Zelda mumbled "We can't let them take our hands without permission."

Cole let out a sarcastic chuckle "Don't pull that one. Link and Rosie are our friends now, _you_ wanted to help them in the first place, _you_ helped him escape on the night you two met, and _you_ did all the research in the library for him. So, what does that leave? Are you his friend? Or have you had enough of them?"

"Cole, that's awful! Of course I am friends with them!" Zelda shouted, Link and Rosie turned their heads

Cole smiled "Alright, let's talk about that then. You and Rosie fight and argue at almost any opportunity and have done so since their mother, apologies, passed away, it's not easy to get back to reality, Zelda, they are clinging onto the hope that you are correct in leading them this way. Now Link, he is a decent bloke who even without speaking, you can have long conversations with. He doesn't complain and hardly gets angry; but I'm warning you, Zelda, there is a point where he is going to snap; forget about playing the royalty card and try and understand them for who they are. Commoners, pardon the expression, help one another in need; that is all they have done for us in return for our wisdom of the land, or lack of it."

Zelda remained quiet and thoughtful.

"And another thing, you may have helped them in town and they were thankful for it, but out here, Link and Rosie have helped us out of danger. Remember that. If you lose trust in Link, he won't help you." Cole spoke softly coming around the fire to lay a hand on his sister's shoulder "I know, Zelda. It's not hard to see."

Zelda turned bright red "What do you mean?"

Cole giggled "That's for me to know and you to find out."

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Cole and Link have found friendship with each other, the girls are at war. To put it bluntly. Now this is the first Link I have ever wrote or seen that new how to skate without falling on their face. Ooh, he seems pretty good at it too, flying without wings on the ice; so there is more that one use for those little blades that he used in the VERY FIRST CHAPTER! It seems so long ago now, doesn't it? Zelda just got snapped at by Cole...wow...he dropped it didn't he? He cares a lot about their friendship with Rosie and Link enough to Zelda what's what. Till next chapter folks!


	20. The Great Sea

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty - The Great Sea

A few more days had past, Cole had gone round to the Fisherman's Hut and bought some proper tools for making a raft and had spent most of his time keeping Link company, helping him when he could, though he knew that Link was touch and go himself when it came to building. But at last, a study raft sat in the snow with a small blue sail with a fish on it; thick logs from the evergreen trees were tied together with thick rope around the central mast that held up the sail. They were quite proud of their work, even if the sail was an old bed sheet and the sides were a little sharp to the touch.

It took all four of them to push the raft the short distance from the shoreline to the water, all crossing their fingers that it would float, when it did, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Rosie packed the last of the food they had and the tools they borrowed and tied the little bag to the raft with a loose knot. But as she came aboard the raft and tied their lifelines to the main mast, she spotted Link looking a little lost. He had the fire arrow in his hands, bare hands; the ashes of the fire were blowing over his boots. Rosie pulled at her lifeline to take it off and walked over to her brother.

"Are you okay, Link?" Rosie asked, noticing Link was wearing his hawk mask; he often wore that when he got worried it seemed, she removed it from his face and rubbed her fingers across the individual lumps and bumps on the underside of it. "You know, Link, I still have mine."

Link looked up at her, pleasantly surprised at her comment, questioning her words with a raised eyebrow, Rosie nodded and pulled a small mask out of her pocket, how she had managed to keep it hidden from him he did not know. Her mask was smaller than his, but not by much, an instead of being made out of dark wood like his, hers was made out of lighter wood, showing respect for the female of the hawk species, though the beak was the same in colour, it was shorter and the feathers were longer than his due to his being more used.

"When Mother and I were packing to go to the ranch, I found it." Rosie whispered sighing slightly "Do you miss her?"

Link nodded and opened his arms to let his sister bury her head into his chest, muffling her sorrow. The masks clonked together when her arms wrapped around her brother's waist, making them shatter into the snow that was starting to blow at their feet. Link glanced up, the shield, it was gone, how? His eyes twitched as gleaming light from the morning sun reflected off their broken masks, he gave Rosie a shake to look at the masks; she gasped.

Half of her mask was attached onto half of his; Rosie picked them up, staring at them in awe and confusion. On the underside of each mask, was their name wrote in old script that she could read from her book along with one simple phrase:

"The Mages shall be like birds in the sky." Rosie read out, handing the one with four letters scarred into the mask.

It was his name. Link suddenly turned cold in her arms as he slipped the mask on his face. His eyes shut though he remained standing. Rosie watched as he struggled to stay upright as a large dome suddenly flashed around them, visibly showing itself as it crushed onto the snow, blowing it away to show the beautiful emerald grass underneath. Rosie seized her brother's hand before he fell and pushed her own mask onto her face; the shield began to crack. From within the mask, writing in the old script flashed past, spells, stories, legends all whirling past her eyes, it was beautiful and enchanting, but started to give her a headache.

Link caught her before she dropped on the snow as it breathed back in. His purple eyes gleaming off the beak of her mask.

"Link, is this…magic?" Rosie asked tightening her grip on Link's clothes "Mages. It's not possible."

Link shrugged his shoulders as Rosie got her balance back and walked to the raft. Link nearly jumped when he spotted Pippa staring at him across from the dead fire. She had kept out of the way for a while. She trotted over and stood on her hind legs, tilting her head slightly. Link stroked her head when he crouched down; in return she licked his cheek before jumping onto the raft with haste. Link scratched his head with a laugh, he remembered the first time he had took Pippa fishing.

They had borrowed a small three person canoe for the day, he and Sarah's father along with Sarah and Pippa had come to this very lake to fish in. He had lost track on how many times Pippa dived into the water for a green scaled fish or snapped at her own reflection and had fallen in. The pup did not mind water really, she was just a bit excitable.

Link and Cole used small oars they had made out of small branches while the girls sat at the front balancing the weight, both fighting to keep Pippa as dry as possible, she kept barking at her reflection, constantly slapping the surface of the water with her paws. It was only a few short moments before they reached the small arch, the top of the mast scratched along the top, sending sparks and splinters to the people below. The clear water was making all sorts of shapes on the walls of the arch as the stone was thick. Zelda glanced down below the surface, through her refection so see that plant life was starting to grow, all moving around with the tides.

"Hey, Zelda, think fast!" Cole giggled splashing water in her face from the oar, she glared at him and stuck her tongue out. The water ran down her face, letting the unprotected taste buds get drenched in salt water, making her recoil at the taste.

"The water's salty! Eww." Zelda grimaced, her entire body shivering in disgust.  
Rosie scoffed "The book called it a sea."

"A sea?" Cole asked, "I've heard of it, it's a wide plain that is home to many water based creatures both that breathe air and remain under the depths."

"My book says there are creatures that go further than the eye can see where it is freezing cold." Rosie added "There are also mythical creatures like mermaids supposedly have been spotted in warmer waters."

The conversation went on hour after hour, long till dusk came, Link held up his fire arrow to see where he was paddling too, though he was starting to get tired. He was exhausted with paddling all day. He yawned and stretched his arms out; noticing Cole was already fast asleep with Pippa lying on his cape, slowly taking it away from him and wrapping herself up in it like she was making a cocoon. This made him wonder, perhaps he could make a shield here.

He slipped on his mask and lay down on the raft with his arms behind his head, slowly shutting his eyes as the clouds parted; decorating it with a curtain of stars. No shield came. Oh well. He would just have to wake Cole when he could no longer stay awake.

The sky was beautiful. He joined up the stars with invisible lines to make huge constellations that shot across the sky for miles, each one more complicated and prettier than the last, going from basic designs such as pots and swords to animals and people. He soon dropped off, his raised arm flopped into the water as his four legged friend edged up to him, nuzzling into his back, wrapping her legs around him as if giving him a hug.

"Wow, look at that." Zelda whispered standing up on the raft, her clothes blowing in the morning wind

"It's a turtle; we must have drifted miles in the night." Rosie informed cupping her eyes before turning around to wake the boys. The pink and purple sky was starting to turn yellow as the great sun started to show its face on the horizon, the clouds covering the last few stars that were staying up late; the wind was strong and blowing the sail towards the gigantic beast that was swimming by; the waves were starting to kick up as the creature lowered its huge flippers, each one big enough to be able to house a full horse and cart on it, they were flat and dark green and covered with large, boulder sized darker green spots, its eye were huge and full of crusty sleep, opening and closing slowly as the beast yawned, but what was weird about it was its shell. The beast had what appeared to be two palm trees sticking out of a sandy part on top of a mud brown shell, coconuts growing from within the thick plant leaves.

Link rose from his place, his hand completely numb from being in the water and completely covered in wrinkles; Cole lifted his head and glanced over at Pippa who was wrapped up in his cape, still completely flat out at Link's side. They also watched in awe at the turtle passing by. Link however, seemed to have another emotion stirring in that head of his. Fear.

That turtle was starting to get rather close and the waves were starting to get choppy under its flippers.

The raft was thrown about the waves as the turtle swam above and below them, roaring as it dived down to the deep; splashing the people and sending them whirling around the water without much control. Link and Cole dug there oars into the water but it was no use, the turtle rose up, catching the side of the raft and flicking it into the air, Rosie clung onto Link when they came back onto the water. Pippa barked at the turtle, roaring and howling threats at the beast yet it ignored her and sent its flipper on the sail, crushing it like a toothpick and forcing the raft under the water, throwing its passengers into the water in a fury of waves and bubbles.

Cole shook his head and coughed, faces were staring at him and the air stank of fish. Zora. The blue eyed, humanoid creatures were crowding the beach that he had washed up on. Some were in the sea; others were scouting on the beaches, yelling when they found something. Cole did not even get a chance to get up before something pounced on him, he felt the paws of said something and the cold wet nose sniff his hair. She whined.

Without words, Cole knew exactly what that meant. Link was not here.

His mouth was dry and salty as he searched around for the other passengers. Rosie was sitting on a rock drying her hair in the company of two adult Zora's, one of which was wearing a dark blue dress and had huge fan like wings that reached her knees. Zelda was watching the tide go in and out, holding some of the wood from the raft that had washed up on the beach with them, she spotted Cole awake and pushed Pippa off his front, the Zora's said nothing in remark

"Cole, I was worried." Zelda whispered wrapping her arms around her damp brother "Rosie and Pippa were here when I woke; the Zoras are looking for Link now. I hope he's okay."

"Link's a strong swimmer; he's much stronger than us, in fact. He's probably looking for us at sea." Cole laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but the setting sun was not looking promising, though Link might have been able to keep his head above water, the temperature would not guarantee survival out there.

"Excuse me?" a Zora mumbled tapping Cole's shoulder, he turned his head to see a tall Zora, bear chested like the other males but wore a small kilt that stopped at his thighs and a brown belt that pinched in at the waist; but what was weird was that the Zora was wearing shoes, thick leather boots and had thin, sharp fins on his arms more suited for combat than innocent swimming.

"Yes?" Cole spoke

"It would be wise for you to leave the search for the boy in our fins, we have spoken with the Great Turtle and he offers his most sincere apologies." the Zora said bowing to the monarchs "He has offered to help with the search for he can swim further than we can and may be able to find him faster."

"We appreciate that, he's a good friend of ours." Cole replied "We would help with the search on land."

The Zora seemed to flinch "No, you best get some rest, we will inform you as soon as we find him."

Zelda narrowed her eyes at the Zora, squinting into his dark eyes "You remind me of someone."

"Never met you before, Your Highnesses. I've lived here all my life." the Zora spoke, making a quick exit. Pippa sat down in the sand at their feet; watching a crab pass by.

The Zora looked all night for Link but without luck. They searched above the waves and below them, to as far as light would let them; until the Zora that approached the monarchs, talked to the Great Turtle, frantically pacing a private beach away from the crowds.

"What do I do? If he's gone, we can't open the Grove!" the Zora wailed

"Now, now, young one, don't get your fins in a twist." the Great Turtle sighed watching the Zora move with half open eyes "He is alive."

"Your eyes know all, my deity." the Zora breathed "Where?"

"Four miles north and two miles west. He swum for a long time." the Great Turtle yawned "I shall collect him from his place; you need to keep to your act, Tempus."

"I'll collect him; I can't stand being around the monarchs." Tempus grumbled folding his arms

"I understand your anger, but do not use that anger against them, you remember what happened last time." the Great Turtle warned, "You were banished."

Tempus growled under his breath

"Temper, Tempus." the Great Turtle groaned as the Zora dived into the water and swam out to sea.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

We've hit 20 chapters! Awesome! So...where are they? That's an easy question, there are loads of clues. And this guy, Tempus, who is he? He was banished...hmm, where from? Why would he hate the monarchs? And what gate does he refer to? Well, we know how the shield was created now. No many questions this time, till next chapter folks.


	21. A New Power, Another Attack

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty One - A New Power, Another Attack

Link panted. His entire body shivering with cold and exhaustion; he had swum on and off and on all night and was worn out with fighting the waves. He leaned over on the small piece of the raft that had kept him afloat all this time and gazed down at his slowly kicking feet, he had fought off sleep as much as he could, but he was tired.

The sky was brightening up for a new day; the clouds parting over the waves on the horizon and the breeze was starting to kick back up from the calm night, Link willed his legs to move but they were to cold and tired, they just hung there; his eyelids began to droop, letting every bone in his body relax on the piece of wood he clung to; he fought to stay hugging it; his chin touched the surface of the water as he slipped off.

Something gripped his collar and pulled his head out of the water. Link gasped in alarm but did not fight back.

Tempus sighed in relief; he had just caught him, spotting him from a distance. He was amazed at fates design, giving the boy something to hold on to till rescue; he was lucky to still be alive because he was freezing and dripping wet. Tempus smiled and held onto the boy's shoulders coaxing him gently around to his back and letting him get on, his limbs leaning over the side of Tempus's body.

"I'll swim as fast as I can, okay?" Tempus said, lifting Link's chin up with a blue finger to keep his head out of the water.

Carrying Link along the surface of the water was not easy, the boy kept falling asleep and leaning over into the water, but they managed to get to the beach where his sleep-deprived group of young teens stood. They watched Tempus carry Link on his back like a monkey would its baby to shore, crossing the sand in his leather boots. Zora came up to him, reaching for the boy but Tempus pulled himself away, taking Link inside Zora Hall.

"See, he's fine." Cole said noticing that Rosie and Zelda were glaring at the Zora. Zelda made a move forward but Cole grasped her arm "Leave him be. That Zora didn't look too happy."

"I don't care about the Zora. I want to make sure he's okay." Zelda argued, Cole let go of her arm. Rosie stayed at his side

"I would have expected this behaviour from you more than Zelda." Cole sighed

"That Zora is no Zora." Rosie muttered rubbing her chin "I heard him and the Great Turtle talking the other night."

"How'd you mean? He looks like a Zora." Cole spoke scratching his head

"But he's not a Zora hatched. They said that you banished him." Rosie snapped pointing a finger at Cole.

Cole shrugged "It must have been when I was younger. I can't undo what my parents did until I become King you know."

"I'm not asking you to pardon him. I'm saying that he has hard feelings because of his banishment, and if I'm correct, you don't banish Zora, they are a different kingdom all together."

"You're right." Cole whispered

"In my book, it said that there were masks introduced into reality not long ago, before our lifetimes, and some had the ability to change a person's appearance. Case in point, maybe the mask he's wearing is the Zora Mask."

"Big interest because?"

"He's wearing boots. What Zora wears boots? More specifically, leather boots. Leather goes all floppy when wet, Link's had to hang his out to dry loads of times because they've doubled in size. Those boots are more suited for exploration."

"Hmm, come to think of it, he did seem a little familiar." Cole mumbled scratching the back of his head "Let's go and find Zelda before she rages."

Tempus kept a foot on the door as he squeezed Link's shirt in his hands, letting the water drop onto the rock floor.

"Open this door, Zora!" Zelda screamed thumping her fists on the other side, Tempus pushed his back against the door as it shuddered on its doorframe. He had not anticipated the girl's strength. The door bounced forward on its hinges again; throwing Tempus on the floor for a moment, he groaned and took his boots off to show his flat feet and shoved the toes under the door...followed quickly by the little chest of draws that was housing a small lamp in the corner.

"That girl is scary." Tempus grimaced wringing out a sock. Link curled up into a ball in the little bed Tempus had given him, it was Tempus's room in Zora Hall they were in. A guitar made out of a large fish bones leant against the dark damp walls that were lit up with small clam torches and a small desk that had two books on it, one his diary and other was left to him by a friend whom he had done a great favour for, almost twenty years ago now. Link turned on his back as Tempus reached for the guitar and strummed a few quiet notes with his fingers; he shut his eyes as he played; humming under his breath till the shifting sound of earth echoed in his ears.

Pippa broke through underneath the damp flooring, her dirty paws clawing at the fish skin rugs that decorated the floor. Tempus opened an eye to see the damp and dirty dog standing there with tail wagging at him, completely fine with his appearance. Though he reeked of fish, she knew better than to chew the nearest one she could find.

"It's about time you showed up." Tempus chuckled strumming a sour note.

Pippa shook herself till her fur puffed up and trotted over to where Link was, giving Tempus the cold shoulder; she jumped on the bed and licked Link's cheek. He moaned quietly and shivered; Pippa went round the back of him and snuggled under the blanket, hugging him as best he could with two of her four paws.

"Fine, ignore me then. You might not be able to understand my words, Pippa, but you do understand tone." Tempus spoke tightening a string

Pippa raised her head and watched him for a moment with her unblinking eyes.

Tempus shuddered at her stare "Please don't do that, I've seen that look so many times."

Link opened his eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Pippa came into his view, slobbering his face with doggy kisses; Link laughed and rubbed his cold hands through her fur till she pawed at him to play; but his hands fell gently by his sides and his eyes remained open; though he was not really registering anything.

"Go back to sleep, Link." Tempus whispered walking softly towards him to lower his eyelids. Link had not even noticed his fingers. He guessed this was a good thing. "You need your energy."

Tempus waited around till the soft sound of Link's sleeping breath echoed in his ears and somehow produced a bow from his pouch on his back and leaned it against the bed before leaving the room as quietly as he could.

He was floating. Link often floated in his dreams before a picture formed; his clothes would be blowing in an endless wind without it cooling him. He landed on the floor, dropping into his crouched position like clockwork. He glanced around the dark horizon over a pool of grey water and hills met his gaze, so he began to walk for what felt like hours in this dream getting no closer but no further away from the scenery.  
The breeze changed direction, Link turned on his heel to find a small bird sitting on a lone tree without leaves, it tweeted a greeting and landed on his shoulder; cleaning its wings with its sharp beak. Link reached up to touch the beautiful bird but it bit him, grabbing his finger with its jaw but did not hurt him beyond the draw of its beak.

It sat there for some time, staring at him with its tiny black eyes before flittering away into the darkness; upon which the breeze changed direction again, forcing the clothes on his body to pull upwards. He had to grip his shirt to keep it down, but something shot into his side, drawing a few drops of blood. He gasped and held his side, pain within a dream was something he had experienced before, though not often, it was a curious thing, even more so when you knew it was a dream; it was like someone had grabbed the part that was hurting and was rubbing it in tiny little circles with their fingers while their nails dug into your skin so softly it tickled like the beginning of a cactus sting. It was a strange sensation.

Either way, he looked for the shooter, as the ammunition was digging into his side. An arrow. Just a normal arrow but one none the less.

He stood his ground, still as a statue waiting for the archer to strike again, his ears pricked and primed for the sound of the bow string being pulled back; he heard nothing and yanked the arrow out of his side with a low groan, holding it in his hands he held it up like a javelin.

That sound!

Link turned on his heel only to be a second to late, another arrow lodged into his side and another into his right knee; he crashed down onto the floor with a yelp keeping himself low.

Pippa had watched the he-fish-two-legged leave Master alone but had decided to stay and watch Master through the night, she kept turning her head to check on him; every so often he would turn quickly in his position like he had been hurt, but she knew he was sleep-playing, she sometimes slept-played it was a fun thing to do at dark. She snuggled into Master's neck, rolling onto her back as he lifted his paws up as if to try and stop something, like when he tried to stop her eating a feathered-dog pup. That was a day, the alpha of the feathered-dogs had chased her around for a long time after she had tried, Master had told her off for that; but the feathered-dog she had tried to taste grew up and enjoyed playing with her now. She licked Master's cheek and lowered her head onto his chest, letting her head move with his breaths; but no matter how she tried, she could not sleep.

Something did not feel right.

Link now had five arrows in a bloody hand, he was surprised he had not woken yet but this dream was blocking all thoughts of awakening, like he was locked in a room with no key, but even if a room seemed totally locked and bolted, there was always a way out. He had still not seen any sign of the archer who was expertly firing the arrows he had to admit, hitting his sides, his back and legs with repeated strikes, no matter how much he had moved about, no matter how much he had ran towards the location of the latest shot, he never found anything or anyone. Dreams were an endless world.

Two more arrows from opposite poles shot towards him, one going through his right arm and the other hitting his left leg. He lay on the ground for a moment, shutting his eyes in pain and nerves that he was sure his body would be showing by now. But still more arrows made contact with his body, turning the dark shroud he was covered in blood red. Nine arrows, four still in his body, yet no more blood spilled as he lay there giving up.  
He heard footsteps nearby and opened an eye to a slit for a moment. The landscape had changed dramatically. He was no longer covered in the dark or red curtain, but in a cloud covered area, the water was still underneath him, but the air was much lighter and the blood had all gone, even his wounds were closing before his very eyes. Before him, stood a man in a green tunic holding a bow, his bow, he recognised the bad job on fixing the top curve that kept the string tight, but it was the age that confused him, that bow looked much, much more worn out than his, it was even made out of wood that was lighter than the dark wood his was made out of, with golden coloured trim made from the original wood, the rest had been polished to a bone white.

The man who held it wore his quiver on his back with still a large, unending amount of arrows still left inside. He had short blond hair that was soft as the clouds that passed around them and strong archer arms like his own; he had been a bowman for a long time. The man nocked an arrow down from his quiver into the bow in almost record time before turning on Link, the very point of the arrow was almost touching his nose.  
Link did nothing. He just stood, knowing a dream held no really danger.

The man lowered his weapon, letting the string come loose with a smile.

"Ignorant of danger, huh?" the man asked cruelly, blinking his dark blue eyes "Very well."  
Link tilted his head up as the man swung his bow over his shoulder "Walk with me, Link. You'll wake soon." the man spoke walking through the water to the place that Link had been shot.

The man suddenly stopped walking but Link continued, her heard the bow string on the man's bow pull back and an arrow was shot towards Link's face; he shut his eyes.

He was hesitant to open them again, he could see the arrow on the bridge of his nose but his face was covered in a sea blue orb inside a diamond. It floated about for a few seconds before rising up to the top of his head, shining down on his mess of hair before dancing a single spin and plunging down into his skull. He felt like someone had dropped a ton on his head, dragging him downward to the floor; the veins on his hands and arms pulsed and lit up with blue light till the tips of his fingers were armed with blue fire, stretching out along his hands like gloves.

Link looked up to find the man had already primed his next arrow, he let go of the string, letting the fletching of the arrow skim across his face. Time seemed to slow down as he stared, showing that the white of his eye had gone neon blue, hiding his iris and pupil within it.

The arrow was seconds away from touching his chest, a shot that would kill when it hit his body but instead Link rose from the floor, his head tilted back showing his bare neck. The arrow that was shot began to spin around him as if it had stuck to something, which was true as a silvery blue shield began to materialize around the boy; but it did not last long, it soon vanished, forcing him to crash onto the floor gasping for breath.  
The man rushed up to him as the clouds that passed by began to shatter like glass and the floor underneath them smashed into thousands of pieces

"Be careful how you use the power, it'll run out if you aren't careful!" the man shouted dropping through the fall and the water that was running down in huge waterfalls.

Link tossed and turned in his sheets, seizing the blanket in his hands before suddenly lifting from the safety of the pillows to the dawn light shining under the door. He clutched his chest in his hands, panting for breath before reaching for his clothes. Only to notice, Pippa had left his side.

Weird.

When the sun had fully gone down and the night had eaten at the land, Pippa awoke suddenly, Master was still asleep in his rags as normal but it was the strange glow from the doorway that made her uneasy. She had never seen a light that colour before, it was different from the rest of the places she had seen and smelled. The he-fish-two-legged had left Master when he fell asleep, that he-fish-two-legged smelt like fish but also of feathered dogs and the rocks from the stone-two-legged, perhaps he was a walker like they were? The glow moved when she raised her nose into the air. That smell. That light. The hot-beast-without-hot!

It was here!

She yapped at Master, pawing at his furless face, but he did not wake, he did not even make a noise. So she jumped down and scratched at the solid den hole, her claws digging some of the bark away. But Master still did not move. With a frustrated growl, she clawed at the flooring, making a hole under the solid den hole before squeezing out through the other side with a _pop!_

Wait, the hot-beast-without-hot, where was it? she could not see it in the dark, nor smell it anymore; _sniff_, the ground stank of fish, so many paws had crossed here along the way, but under the scent was a trace of the hot-beast-without-hot. Weird, it was following the she-two-legged that was Master's sibling, scent. Why? The air turned cold under her fur coat as she spotted something slip under another closed den. She barked in alarm and jumped up at the door before scrambling underneath in a quick dig.

The hot-beast-without-hot was flying just above the she-two-legged that was Master's sibling, touching her furless face with tiny paws before flittering over her slightly open mouth. Pippa sprang up towards the hot-beast-without-hot but it disappeared before she could snap at it and crashed into a den wall.

Laughter echoed in the darkness, mocking her timing as she rolled herself the right way up. Pippa sniffed at the she-two-legged that was Master's sibling's paw that was touching the floor and coughed.

She smelled like sickness.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I'm exhausted. I've wrote like crazy for a couple of weeks to get these on time.

Rosie smells a rat? Do you? What Zora wears boots? What Zora indeed? And what Zora gets banished from a Hyrule? How many Zora live in Hyrule Castle Town instead of Zora's Domain? Pippa seems to know him. WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS ZORA?! What a strange dream Link had, and that power he showed, what does that remind you of? Now, what was Flame doing with Rosie? What is up with her now? So many things to think about!


	22. Dreamy Realities

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty Two - Dreamy Realities 

Link wandered around for a little after emerging from his room, at first his footsteps had been more of a sleepy stagger than straight route to the exit of Zora Hall. He had decided to carry his shoes through the hall itself; he could hear a lot of running water around and did not want to have to hang his boots up to dry again. He stopped for a moment and sat down, dipping his ankles into some clear water around a giant white shell with a few instruments on; a woman in a blue dress with large fins was playing a few sour notes on a piano made of bones to a smaller Zora that only reached up to his hip, only about five years old if he had to guess. The child was wearing a silvery grey dress with a blue belt running across it; the fin on her head had two small ones flapping around as if she was clapping her hands.

"Good morning, Link. I hope we didn't disturb your sleep." the woman spoke moving her slender fingers from the piano the child jumped into the water and paddled across it without so much as making a splash

"I've been playing with Pippa this morning, she's on the beach, but Grandma wanted me to come and sing with her." the child giggled resting her arms on the side

"Manners, Ayrll." the woman sighed following her grand-daughter across the water but at a much slower rate.

Link held his hand out to shake hands with the Zora woman but the woman refused to shake with him as she pulled herself out of the water and onto the edge.

"He was a kind man, Link. I'm surprised he didn't tell you of the Shadow Folk of Spirit." she said,

Link turned his head sharply and raised an eyebrow

"I knew your God-Parent. He was there for your parents in another skin. Much different than our scales." the woman spoke "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Lulu. Ayrll's Grandfather passed away before she was born but a friend of hers offered to take his place."

Link gave her a horrified look

"No, not like that!" Lulu laughed "I mean he offered to act in his position as a father and grandfather, though the children knew he was not their birth father; he was doing a favour so my...him could see them grow up through his eyes."

Link chuckled nervously and looked at his kicking feet, he still had a lot to learn about trust and life it seemed; for a man to trust another with his children in his place was something he had never heard of, although he could understand why he had done it; he did not want his family to be deprived of a father-figure. But, that raised questions; Mother had never mentioned they had a god parent, why did not he come to see them? Was that man that saved him his God-Parent? Did this have something to do with hiding their father?

He let out a grumble and crossed his legs.

"The Shadow Folk in the family are secretive, aren't they?" Lulu mumbled putting a hand on his arm; Link looked up at her with sad eyes. "You know, you look a lot like your father now that I mention it."

"Grandma, can he stay for breakfast?" Aryll piped up, splashing Link a little.

"That's up to him, there's a lot on his mind at the moment, honey." Lulu mumbled squeezing Link's shoulder as the little Zora got out of the pool "I found this on the shore line. Take good care of it."

Link looked into his hands at what Lulu had given him, it was a small waterproof pouch; he opened it to find the small flower that the child in the mirror had given him, almost a week ago in fact. He had completely forgotten about it. He took a large inhale and flexed his toes in the water; he was alone. The others were asleep and all the other Zora were out of sight.

He shut his eyes, remembering the blood spill and the spell from the night before; though the thought that came to him seemed far-fetched, given the shield he had created before, is the one from the dream possible too?

_"Ignorant of danger, huh?"_

Cole opened his door slightly and yawned, dragging his tired feet across the floor; he saw Link with his head lowered at the pool; his eyes shut and hidden past his hair. He watched in awe as Link thrust his arms out, puffing his chest up. Suddenly the place darkened as every flame and fire was snuffed out towards Link, lodging themselves into his forehead in harmless orbs the size of a rupee. After each flame within the main Zora Hall was taken, he watched Link rise from his seat, his fingers tingling and twitching till all ten were encased in blue fire; his hair was moving like it were underwater, revealing his eyes to be totally neon blue; reflecting angrily off every shiny object, Cole could not move, he watched Link's gaze cross the room till it connected with his stare; he saw no Link in that gaze; no, he saw the powerful young man hidden within his silent body.

A Mage.

Without warning, Link tilted his head back and hovered off the ground, his legs dangling in the air. Cole spat out his held breath as a blue shield cocooned him, shining off the floor; Link fought to keep it, his hands flexing and his fingers stretching but the shield began to flicker; dropping him into a crouch on the floor, the fires relit all at once with a _whoosh_.

Link panted on the ground, exhausted but satisfied. He had seen Cole's stares through his diamond eyes; he had hoped to have been able to end the spell there, but it had continued, he had limited control; he knew that much.

All he had to do; was be ignorant to danger. That's how the shield worked; it would protect if the person within it did not have fear of the things around it, his dream showed it as clear as day, if he did not fear the arrow coming at him from the bowman; it would not hit him.

It sounded stupid but at least he knew how this one worked.

"How'd you do that?!" Cole shouted covering Link's mouth instead of his own.

Link lowered his shoulders in an out loud sigh

"Oh right, mute." Cole sniggered "Write it for me?"

Link shook his head and shrugged, twisting his face and lifting his arms up

"You don't even know how you did it?" Cole asked making the same face Link did

Link gave a shallow nod, he was kind of telling the truth.

Pippa lay on the cold floor; stretching out on her side to wait for the she-two-legged that was Master's sibling to wake up, she had been playing out of boredom with a fish-two-legged but she did not want to stray too far away from her post. Master would be livid when he found out. She finally awoke, growling and grunting as two-legged did when they opened their eyes for the first time, Pippa hopped on the bed and whined, putting her paws on her legs in an attempt to stop the she-two-legged that was Master's sibling from moving; she had noticed something; every sleep she woke up from, more greys, blacks and whites were changing in her view.

Colours.

Every day, more of these colours would change and become a new and different one she had never seen before what's more, she was beginning to understand what the two-legged were saying; only bits and pieces but she could understand them slightly; Master being the soul cause for this, though he could not bark out loud, she could understand him perfectly in paw and mouth movements.

"Get off." the she-two-legged that was Master's sibling growled pushing her off, the tone of her voice was considered a threat but there was also a hint of tiredness in there, so she ignored it. Her nose kept warning her of the sickness in her. But there was no change in her personality; just the regular anger of the sleepy. She grew bored of it and left her alone for a while; searching for Master's scent under all the stink of fish.

Hang on…_sniff…_the he-dog…_sniff…_ he-he was here, nearby in fact and also…_sniff…_the other he-dog the one that had attacked Master, he was close too, how did he get over the large wet? Pippa let out a whine and sat down only for the he-two-legged that was Master's friend to pass by

"Hey there, Pippa, what's up with you?" he asked crouching down to offer her a small morsel of meat.

Pippa howled loudly, raising her voice into a tune that the he-two-legged in the dog mask had taught her; her notes were off on some parts but she got the gist of the tune correct, she was scared and wanted to go home, the sickness was following them!

The he-two-legged that was Master's friend jumped "What's wrong girl? Is everything alright?"

Pippa thumped her tail on the ground and pawed his knees, barking in his face with the upmost urgency.

"Link!" he shouted over Pippa's howls, Link had vanished.

Rosie pushed her door open to Pippa's complaints; she had not expected the dog to wake her as she had done.

"What's going on?" she yawned smoothing down a light blue tunic she had been given by the Zora

"Pippa's getting worked up about something, look." Cole replied pointing down to the yapping pup, who upon seeing Rosie started to uproar even more.

Link lounged in a nearby tree near a fast flowing river, the shield casting had worn him out and it was hard not to fall asleep on his perch with the cool breeze blowing past him and the gentle calming sound of the water. His arms fell from across his chest as he lay against the trunk; his back slumping downward and the cloth cap he had slid down his face, the tip of the sock falling touched the tip of his nose, it made him giggle slightly; he had often pondered on how being a Mage could help him, he had never really stopped believing in it; but even then there was the shadow of doubt. He shook it off and tried to think positively. If he became a healer he could pay his way in the world, he would not need to steal food and spores anymore. He swung down on the branches, holding the trunk of the tree with a looped arm; when they found their father, life could begin anew, he would finally be able to forget about illness and grow up as a worthy adult that was not on the brink of starvation; since meeting Zelda, he had eaten two to three meals a day; he had gained weight and was starting to grow again, colour was back in his cheeks, he twirled from the trunk towards a small pond that branched off from the river; glancing at his reflection with beaming eyes, he would help people by making medicines and earn their respect, he could be proud of what he was instead of hiding, he could-

"Link, what are you doing?" a voice asked from behind him, Link shrieked and fell into the water

-He could embarrass himself in front of Zelda again.

Zelda burst into laughter when he surfaced spitting out water and taking a lily pad off his head, he turned bright red

"Don't give me that look!" Zelda chortled offering him a hand  
Link smiled and took it but in his attempt to pick himself up, Zelda fell in the water, dragging some of the dirt and grass she stood on with her. Link covered his mouth in an attempt not to laugh when Zelda came back to the top, her hair was soaked and acted like curtains over her eyes; she glanced at Link and sniggered, he joined in as he swam to the side, pulling himself out of the water

"Link, Cole said you were a brilliant skater, could you show me?" Zelda asked clambering out of the pond

Link shook his head and wrung out the bottom of his shirt

"Why not? I would very much like to see it." Zelda said, her face shining with a smile

Link rolled his eyes and opened his mouth as if to speak, but were interrupted by Pippa's loudening howl from Zora Hall, Zelda watched as his face changed, his ears lifted up.

"What is it?" Zelda asked taking his hand

Link looked down at her then scratched his head. Turning sharply at Zelda he put a finger on her lips and mouthed something very slowly

Zelda had learned how Link actually got to converse with people, they would not only take in his actions and mouthing, but would also watch his face, every line within it told a different word, his pupils would dilate when he was 'speaking' deeply or angrily, when he was happy, the corners of his mouth would be turned up, but the face she received was close to a glare, his pupils were wide across his purple irises, his eyebrows were raised slightly and his closed mouth was straight. He was calm but this showed fear was hidden under his skin, she could feel it in his squeezing hand. She watched his mouth tell her the same word over and over till she nodded.

_Danger._

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Link has learned a new power? The one from his dream seems all to real. I think Cole got quite a shock there, so much so his body would no obey him. Who was Lulu talking about? Does she know Link's father? And who's his God-parent? What is Pippa barking about? Does she know something? Can Link understand what she's saying? Where did that Zora get to?


	23. Taunting And Tug-of-War

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty Three - Taunting And Tug-of-War

Link and Zelda came around the corner, no, skidding around the corner would be more appropriate, Link half dragging Zelda around towards Pippa's howls and screams; upon seeing her master Pippa pounced; jumping on his chest growling and barking in his face, her entire body was shaking, her tail straight and her ears were lowered.  
Link glanced at the people in the area, his gaze slowly locking on to his sister just before an accusing finger pointed at her face.

"What?" Rosie snapped rubbing an eye

Link folded his arms and began to circle her like a vulture, taking every detail of her person in his memory. He snatched her wrist and held it firm against his chest to stop her pulling away.

"Stop it, Link!" Rosie snarled as her brother glared into her eyes as if he could see through into her soul. He let go, leaving a red mark on her wrist

"Link, what's going on?" Cole asked putting a hand on his shoulder, Link brushed it off and dipped his hand into the pouch Lulu had given him, holding up a bag of damp leaves to her face

"I'm not sick! Leave me alone!" Rosie growled slapping the bag away

Pippa barked at her, snarling, Link frowned and offered the bag again, his expression ordering her to take some leaves. Rosie rolled her eyes and dipped her hand into the bag; shoving two leaves into her mouth and chewing them loudly; Link took some himself and thrust the bag in Cole's direction. Though Cole was the one of royalty, he did as 'told' and took two leaves.

Link stuck his tongue out: red as a cherry

Cole and Zelda stuck their tongues out: also red

They all waited for Rosie to stick hers out and they all flinched at the colour: it was brown.

Link seemed to crumble, edging backwards into Cole who took his shoulders. He could imagine what was going through his head; first his father supposedly died, then his mother passed away in front of him with the deadly illness without cure and now, now the last member of his accepting family had it. Cole watched as Link desperately clung onto his brave face, but he could feel his fear coming off him like a bad smell. Zelda had gone quiet too, watching every line in Rosie's face change; the reactions of others were telling her the news she did not want to hear ever again. She rushed forward into Link's arms, burying her head into his chest so he got a faceful of hair; she was shaking in fear. Link rubbed a hand through his hair and groaned, he had enough about being the man of the family, enough about illness and bad news already; the stress on his shoulders was starting to show and he was frightened for the future even if he did become a healer, he would have to become one fast.

The day seemed to pass slowly for them all, Link had gone to the beach; sitting in the sand with his head lowered, he was showing grief and it looked more painful than anything he had ever experienced; though the death of his mother was still fresh in his mind. He brought his hands over his face and cried, sobbing his woes out in a bout of anger and frustration.

Zelda watched him from behind a palm tree worried with the fact that he had not eaten nor moved from his spot since he had separated from the group, the tide was coming in and his boots were getting damp with the water tasting them but it was best she leave him alone.

He was not in any mood to be in someone's company.

The little green bird watched from higher in the tree, camouflaged in the leaves that were the same colour as his wings. His tiny eyes watched the sad boy take his woes out in privacy; not wanting to bother the rest of the world with his problems; the people of this world could not hear him even if he wanted to. He turned his head to stare at the girl beneath the leaves and narrowed his eyes a little; if she would not go to him on her own terms, she would go on his. He hopped along the thin branch the leaves hung from till he stopped on a coconut, using his weight to make it wobble in its place. He jumped on it, once, twice, crack!

Zelda squeaked as a coconut landed just right of her. Link raised his head to see her standing there; he sighed and turned back to look out to sea. She began to walk forward through the sand till she got by his side and sat down behind him, just out of reach of the tide.

"Hey, it's okay." Zelda whispered blowing out through her nose

Link gave her the cold shoulder and turned his head away

"You can take care of her, we can go home, take care of her at the castle!" Zelda offered

Link shook his head slowly and sighed

"Link, you can't give up on her. If you are really a Mage, you can heal her." Zelda mumbled

Link turned his head sharply, snorting at her words

"What do you want me to say?! You're going to be lost and alone with a future filled with death, is that it?!" Zelda snapped

Link gave her a horrified look and jumped up

"I-I don't know what you want me to say, tell me what to say, Link!" Zelda whined tugging at his boot, he kicked her off and ran, disappearing around the corner to the river; sobbing his heart out on the way.

Zelda growled at the sea "Stupid girl, why on Earth did you say that?!"

"You don't know the first thing about grief, do you, Zelda?" Cole asked, appearing behind her

"You heard that?" Zelda asked standing up

Cole nodded "Link is in a pretty bad state, he's grieving his mother's death; that can take a very long time to recover from. With Rosie now sick, he's lost it."

"So what can I do? I'm useless at comforting him!" Zelda snarled

Cole put a hand up "Link has been the provider of his family, the head of the house, he's meant to be as strong as stone but even stone crumbles after a while."

"But we have to be there for him." Zelda sighed coming for a hug

"I know, Zelda. It's hard on everyone. He'll come to us when he's ready." Cole murmured watching the sea fill Link's boot-prints.

The little green bird let out a growl and flew off into the clouds, hovering around to look for Link but instead spotted a greyish wolf finishing the remains of a rabbit upriver. The bird landed on his blood covered nose, forcing the wolf to stop mid-chew. He swallowed and stood up, transforming in a flash of blue and white light into a humanesque figure with blond hair and pointed ears

"I'm hungry, man, let me eat." he grumbled wiping his mouth with a hand

"Soon you will have no need for that transformation; you're beginning to look like a wolf already." the green bird growled transforming into his other form, bird mask topping it off

"It's only a little bit of stubble." the wolf-masked man moaned touching his cheeks "Anyway, what do you want bird-brain?"

"Excuse me?! Who knew that the Hero of Time would be so grouchy when he didn't get his meals." the bird-masked man said glaring at him "It's Link. He's behaving like-"

"A Sheikah? They live in shadow and take death and grieving very seriously." the Hero of Time commented looking up to the sky, biting his lips to keep his laughter in.

"That's not the point!" the bird-masked man sighed pointing a finger at him "Why doesn't Ezekiel show his face and end the boy's misery?"

"You don't know much about Hyrule do you, bird-brain? It's changed since you went on an all seed diet." the Hero of Time smirked, the bird-masked man roared and kicked the rabbit into the bushes "Hey! I was eating that!"

"Look, Link can't be in this state when he discovers the next Time Mirror, it'll shatter if he's unhappy. Find his father and sort this mess."

"I have a better idea." a female voice sighed, dropping the rabbit at the Hero of Time's feet

"Oh. **OH! **Look who's here! Aurora! Come to meddle in mortal manners, have you?" the bird-masked man sighed throwing his arms up into the air "You two can deal with this yourselves. I'll wait for you in the chamber!"

"Oh, no you don't; bird-brain." the Hero of Time chuckled grabbing the bird-masked man's collar, "Aurora, what brings you here?"

Aurora began to pace "I have come down here with a plan. I shall deal with Link from now until you two can get your acts together."

"I've made sure they were on course, moving them along to the best of my abilities!" the bird-masked man cried

"I gave him the power of fire and ice as agreed." the Hero of Time complained "And I saved him-oops."

"I am aware of this; the pair of you can track down Ezekiel. This problem needs a woman's touch." Aurora spoke, her voice giving authority that was to be obeyed

"Since when did you become the one to solve problems?" the Hero of Time sniggered "Ow!" Aurora dropped the stick she held; the Hero of Time rubbed his cheek

"Now gentlemen, I want you to locate Ezekiel, not tomorrow, not after eating, now. And don't fight, you're family, or will I be forced to break that argument up again?"

"No!" the men shrieked, hugging their shoulders

"I lost feathers!" the bird-masked man wailed

"I've still got the scars!" the Hero of Time grimaced

"Very good, boys. Off you go." Aurora instructed. The men left in silence; one running west, the other flying east. Aurora bent down to finish off the rabbit, her eyes watching the grumpy Hylian sitting in the shadow of a tree.

Link was sure he had heard someone shout nearby but he did not bother to look around. He just twirled some grass in his fingers; letting the blades groan with the weight of his tears; given time to reflect, he had taken Zelda's words a little harshly, she had meant well and was as upset and angry as he was; not to mention Rosie. She was terrified and what good was he doing moping? If he really was destined to be a Mage, then he could, no, would cure her. It would be the first thing he did when he worked out a cure.

He had to. The illness had taken his mother; he would die before it took his sister.

Link stood up and marched to the river's edge to wash his face, cooling his skin from his rage and sighed; his eyes staring at his reflection in the water as a whine came from behind him. He turned his head to see Pippa crawling to him on her belly; trying to keep to the rules of her canine logic; he lowered his shoulders and opened his arms to let her lick him to death.

Her little nose twitched, taking in his scent as Master stroked her back; he was sad, he had been whining again and that made her sad. Master should not be sad. She thumped her tail against Master's legs and snapped up a rag that kept the fur on his head out of his eyes and shook it in her jaws; Master showed his teeth and reached over for it but missed and landed on his stomach. He used his fore paws to lift his head up out of the grass, elbows digging into it slightly as he rested his head on his paws. Pippa wiggled her backside and bounced on her forepaws; a game! Finally! They had not played a game in ages!

Master thrust himself forward, rolling around in the grass for her, but she was much better and dodged his pounce, landing on his back for good measure, he grabbed her tail with a paw and wrapped another paw around her chest; she tilted her head so Master could not reach the rag; jumping and squirming in his grasp till she was on her back. Master retrieved the rag, taking it in his paw but she did not want him to get it that easy; she tugged. Master pulled it back standing up on his hind legs like a two-legged does; still pulling on the rag, Pippa lost her grip and Master flew into a nearby bush. Pippa jumped into the bush with him causing him to make that yip-yowl sound.

Master was happy again. She made him happy and this made her happy.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I hate writers block!  
So guys, you finally know who the Hero of Time is, don't you? And there are some hints to _who_ else he has been too isn't there? But who is this Aurora? She's not been in the story so far has she? Pippa understands Link doesn't she? She just wants to see him happy and she warned them of the sickness infecting Rosie. But now Link has much more to deal with. How would you cope?


	24. Don't Test Me

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty Four - Don't Test Me 

Rosie lay under the sheets of her bed; hugging a pillow over her stomach; she had cried all day and her body was shaking due to hunger and fear. She had barricaded the door with a chair so no one could see her cry and Link was no use to her.

And…she was no use to Link.

Link was always strong, always mild mannered and dare she say, courageous, he tried so hard to keep everyone's heads out of the water that he forgot he was drowning in a sea of troubles. He sometimes got angry because he was unable to share his thoughts and opinions without having to play a game of charades to get his point across. And with Mother dead now, his only connection from his silent world was her and she was selfish.  
She sat up, still hugging the pillow; her thought pattern changed; how did Link work out she was sick? How did he understand Pippa's howls? She had not even began to show symptoms, did it have a certain smell or sight that Pippa could find? She got up and moved the chair away from the door but did not open it; all that had offered her food were long gone.

_"You think too much."_ a voice grunted, Pippa dropped the pillow

"Who's there?!" she snapped scanning the room

_"Just you and me."_ it spoke, Rosie dropped onto her knees, her breath became laboured; she arched her back and let out a painful wail, holding her stomach with a hand

"Cole?! Zelda?! Anyone?!" Rosie shouted crumpling up on the ground squeezing her eyes shut

_"You are now my slave. You will kill the Mage in his weak state."_ the voice ordered, Rosie tried to stand up, only managing to bring her upper body off the ground, lifting her head so her neck was exposed.

"I will not kill my brother." Rosie snarled lurching forward till her head almost hit the floor

_"You don't have a choice. I am the plague._" the voice laughed, Rosie felt like she had been kicked down; weight was crushing her limbs to keep her in position _"I will fill you with so much hatred for your sibling that your claws will kill him."_

"Ah-you are an illness, not a person!" Rosie yelled trying to lift her arms up; something turned her over, pulling her on invisible strings

_"I am evolving. Soon I will have this world."_ it said, Rosie let out a scream as she felt something cross her chest, her blood started to stain the clothes she wore _"The Mage's arrows killed my previous host. I don't like your furless face. That can easily be changed."_

Rosie screamed so high pitched that Cole woke up next door. He heard a thump of a body slamming against the wall and rushed out of bed to investigate. He opened his door to hear the quiet sound of trickling water from the falls nearby, he was sure Link would be in bed by now but something told him that that was wishful thinking; considering his mood, Link would not return for a while.

"Rosie, is everything okay? I heard something drop." Cole asked knocking on her door; he heard a groan from inside. Cole opened the door slightly and peeked into the darkness of the room. It had been wreaked, the bed clothes were ripped and torn to pieces, the floor was covered in chips of wood from the dresser being clawed at and the remains of a torn tunic was lying on the floor. Cole picked up the shirt of the tunic in his hands and listened closely for the sound of Rosie's breath, it was against his nature to jump to conclusions but his mind was racing. He heard her, gasping in the corner of the room under a blanket, Cole rushed up to her, kneeling down at her side. The blanket groaned. "Rosie, are you alright? What happened?" Cole whispered putting a hand on where he thought her shoulder was; the blanket shifted down a little, since when was Rosie's hair black? He shuffled back slightly as the blanket was pulled off her body to reveal a ball of fur; it rose off the floor with a groan and a growl. Cole reacted fast and turned a light on at the door and let out a scream, Rosie was not in the room, this was a black Wolfos.

The Wolfos staggered on its paws for a moment and shook its head; the fur covering its entire body apart from a pair of green eyes glaring through fur under a pair of large ears that were alert and raised; the Wolfos leaned on its forelegs and snapped the air with its knife sharp teeth; revealing a long pink tongue. Cole controlled his breathing but continued to stare at the creature, wondering why it was not paying attention to him; although it had just eaten…Rosie…Link would be furious, sick with anger for a very long time, so much so that he might have a strong appetite for bloodshed. The Wolfos reared on its hind legs; its big black nose catching his scent. It stared at him; licking its lips before charging forward at a blinding speed, Cole slammed the door in its face; gasping for breath. What could he do? Zelda was in her room, she had turned in before he had and she could sleep through a storm

"Link, wake up!" Cole shouted barging into the room to find no boy in there. He rolled his eyes and heard the wood of the door smash nearby, the Wolfos had charged through; he could hear the footsteps stagger in the opposite direction towards Zelda's room, easy bait. Cole skidded out of Link's room and saw the Wolfos sniffing the sides of the closed door.

Cole thought fast and grabbed the guitar that leaned against the wall in Link's room and rushed to the beast, swinging the instrument like a golf club towards the head; the Wolfos roared and flipped back, standing on its hind legs till it towered over him.

Run.

Link and Pippa wandered around in the dark, they had worn themselves out playing all evening, they had gone back to Zora Hall for a little for Link's bow and quiver so he could do a little target practice when it was quiet; this was one thing that Mother did not know. He slipped his mask on over his face and slung an arrow into his bow; breathing gently he pulled the string back and aimed for a rotten apple that hung from a tree branch. Shutting his eyes he let the arrow pierce through his target. Pippa sniffed the rotten fruit that dropped to the ground for a moment before raising her head. The wind changed its course blowing the last leaves on the trees and curling his clothes up against his skin; Link raised his arms over his face as he heard something shout from the forest.

Cole dashed through the woods as fast as his feet would carry him, avoiding most of the swipes and bucking the Wolfos tried, even so, it was clumsy, to clumsy for a good Wolfos, perhaps it was sick. Either way, he had angered it enough to get it away from his sister but was he being stupid bringing it closer to Link? Was he even armed? Please be armed.  
Cole twisted his head around to find the Wolfos was no longer on his tail. He skidded to a halt and scanned the area; no sign of the beast.

Except his shoulder was starting to get damp; something was breathing down his neck.  
Cole jumped back to find the Wolfos standing behind him; claws above their head ready to strike down; he shut his eyes and braced himself for a killing swipe but heard the sound of a warrior scream to echo in his ears and a feel of a pair of feet push into his side; kicking him out of the way into a tree. He opened an eye and rubbed the back of his head to find a young lady a little older than him with dark skin and blazing red eyes was standing in his place, her long arms pushing against the beast's wrists. The Wolfos tried to pull away from her grasp and roared in her face; causing the nearby trees to lean back against the sound but the girl did not even flinch, instead; when the Wolfos had quietened; she roared so loud and animalistic that the Wolfos retreated slightly, Cole put his hands over his ears but continued to watch in fear and awe. The girl silenced herself and brushed her hands through her golden hair; even in its plaited state the end wiped the floor; the Wolfos leaped into the air claws outstretched, the girl flipped back like a gymnast, spreading her legs out she landed and drew a red whip from her pocket with a blue tip. Her right hand squeezed the handle when she let the whip fly; latching itself onto the beast's neck and tying it tight. With a groan she pulled the beast to its knees and vaulted onto its back; using the whip to half strangle the beast to stop struggling till it fell.

"Wow…Wow…How did you learn to do that?" Cole whispered creeping towards her

"That is for me to know and you to find out, Cole." the girl muttered checking the pulse on the beast through its thigh

"How did you know my name?" Cole gulped coming towards her, gently putting a hand on the shoulder of her light blue dress

The girl seized his wrist and pulled it back hard "I made it my interest to find out."

"Ow!" Cole wailed

"I am Aurora." the girl snarled pushing him on the floor. "I suggest you head back to Zora Hall, the beast is merely unconscious."

"But, I have to thank you." Cole sighed rubbing his wrist as Aurora began to march further into the forest

"I do not need your thanks." Aurora muttered without turning her head

"Please, you've saved my life." Cole insisted running up to her

"Really? I never would have guessed." Aurora moaned trying to pass him, he moved in front of her. "You do not want to be around when it comes too."

"Um…" Cole stammered holding his hand out to shake "Yes. Thank you."

Aurora looked at his hand for a moment, trying to work out exactly what the gesture was before offering her own hand; cupping it in her own first. The shook hard; Aurora squeezed tightly, almost crushing his hand before letting go.

"Um…why did you save my life?" Cole asked rubbing his wrist

"Your life means something to your comrade; I can't have him anymore upset." Aurora sighed glancing over her shoulder at the young prince as he began to walk back. A thought arose in her head; she could not have him recognise her in daylight; it would jeopardise her mission, her promise. She scowled at her feet for a moment before moving a piece of red cloth that hung over her dress, hidden behind it was a necklace with a small bamboo shoot hanging from the string; closing her eyes she withdrew a small feather, sharpened till it was almost a razor blade with the tip coated in a deep shade of brown; she slipped it into the bamboo shoot and watched the prince's body slump forward on the ground. She turned and left after that.

Link had heard the commotion and had turned back from his practice; Pippa leading the way with a small stick in her mouth with a lit end and him with a makeshift bucket of water for anything that the pup set alight while she ran. He had tried to carry it but the pup had tripped him up on purpose and took it from him, yes it was a stick, there was, is and would be an uncountable amount of them in the world; Link thought to himself dowsing a small plant with the water that Pippa had caught. Pippa dropped the stick and began growling, tucking her tail between her legs; Link snatched it up the torch before anything caught alight and looked around, his ears tracked someone very close, skulking behind the undergrowth for him, Pippa had alerted him. Link slotted an arrow into his bow but kept the string loose, Pippa snatched the falling stick.

"A warrior huh?" Aurora spoke showing herself up in the trees, Link raised his bow and pulled the string back but did not shoot "I'll cut to the chase, Link. I am Aurora. I have been sent down with a task by my Lord and Master. Lower your bow."

Link did as asked but remained unconvinced on her words.

Aurora jumped down from the tree, landing in the grass by Pippa who had retreated into the bushes for cover. "That task is to lead you to your destiny."

Link slung his bow over his shoulder and folded his arms, twisting his face at the same time

"For a guy that can't speak, you get your point across very quickly." Aurora sighed showing her whip attached to her hip with a smile

Link narrowed his eyes and smirked

"I like you. Come, I will show you to the next Time Mirror, the mirror that you found in Hyrule? Remember?" Aurora said beckoning him over

Link nodded and followed Aurora into the forest, Pippa followed at a distance, there was something about that she-two-legged that smelled…familiar.

They walked for some time in silence; Link knew Aurora was unaware of the Labrador following them and decided to not alert her of this fact, though it was nice to meet someone who could read his actions and faces without hints, her demeanour made him unsure of her intentions; at a glance she was a warrior of peak physical condition that would hurt anyone that got on her wrong side without a moment's thought; unafraid of anything. The question had itched on his mind; was this a Gerudo? He had met Nabooru in the Temple of Time and she had the very same personality; however this one seemed much, much more hostile.

"We're here." Aurora muttered sticking her arm out, nearly slapping Link's face. He parted the huge leaves that Aurora had stopped by to reveal a long tunnel that went into the walls of the boarder that separated the rest of the land from Zora territory.  
Link made a move forward; keeping the leaves pulled back for his new friend

"No need. I cannot enter that place, not yet anyway." Aurora grunted "I will wait for you out here."

Link shrugged and strolled down the tunnel, his bow out in case something approached, but instead Pippa bumped into the back of his legs, whining and growling at the entrance. The girl was frightening her. He would keep an eye on this woman, just as he could trust Pippa too.

He turned to see the accustomed mirror he had seen in Hyrule; the image of his younger self was sleeping under a blanket within the reflection he created, his dreams pleasant till Link tapped a finger on the glass. The child opened an eye and snorted before yawning and stretching up to perform his act once more; gently taking the hand of his older self through the mirror.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Aurora is nice isn't she? Really hostile, so who is she? And she can win against a huge Wolfos without getting a scratch?! Nice. So where did that Wolfos come from? Or more to the point, where did Rosie go? The plague is evolving? How can it do that? Where's the Hero of Time when you need him?


	25. Don't Look, Don't Know

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty Five - Don't Look, Don't Know

_"Malon; we've got days to go, we have to leave the ranch; my friend is waiting." Ezekiel pleaded, crouching on one knee by a bed_

_"I doubt that I'll be able to move far; the horses are frightened of me now. They know what will happen." Malon whispered leaning back on her pillows; rubbing her swelling stomach._

_"Surely you would recognise them. Come to the window." Ezekiel begged helping his wife to sit up, Malon groaned and edged herself forward as best she could, her stomach hanging over her belt. She gasped and brought her hands over her face_

_"Evening, Malon!" a cheery voice replied from the ground. A tall man no older than thirty stood leaning against the stable opposite the house dressed in a dark green tunic and long sock hat; short blond hair was tied up just under the sock to show a bouncy fringe above his crystal blue eyes and welcoming smile; his ears raised when his companion nudged his cheek, a chestnut orange mare with a snow white mane and black eyes that showed she was in perfect condition._

_"I found him." Ezekiel smirked, waving a hand to the man_

_"Doesn't he have a family of his own now? I've not seen him since we were teenagers." Malon asked trying to climb off the bed_

_"No, he's been...living rough these past few years in my country." Ezekiel sighed "Come on man, give me a hand!"_

_"I'm coming!" the man replied opening the door downstairs "I'm not used to stairs now, you know!"_

"Why does he keep going to Termina? Why can't he stay here?" Malon squeaked as the blond man's head popped in from the hallway

_"I'm a man of many faces, Malon. I'm not really for staying in one place all the time." the man spoke holding his hand out, Ezekiel moved her free hand over his shoulders and got into position to lift Malon up_

_"You haven't changed a bit, Link." Malon grunted, holding her stomach as the man took her arm and mirrored the position that Ezekiel had_

_"On three…one, two, three." Ezekiel said; the men lifted Malon up as carefully as they could; their strength allowing them to bring her down the stairs towards the living room; pausing for a moment to breathe._

_"Where have you been all these years?" Malon questioned, the man sat himself down_

_"I've been looking after his-my family; I go by the name Tempus now. But never mind me, look at you! You're still as pretty as I remember and about to bring a child into the world!" Tempus smiled pinching her cheek while Ezekiel packed some food up in a basket; his eyes constantly looking over his shoulder to the window_

_"You need a shave." Malon winced holding her friend's chin in a hand_

_"Why does everyone keep telling me that? It's a bit of stubble! I don't wear this face often you know." Tempus groaned shaking his head "Anyway, I'm going to help you get to a Fairy Fountain near here."_

_"Why would-ah-I need to go to a Fairy Fountain?" Malon grimaced squeezing Tempus's shoulder till he cringed_

_Ezekiel and Tempus exchanged a glance. "Honey, I don't want to lose you or our child."_  
_Ezekiel sighed, bringing his voice down to a whisper "Li-Tempus knows the safest and easiest locations for Fairy Fountains; we can stay in them for as long as we want."_

_"Fine. Let's go." Malon winced "I can't wait to see Epona after all these years!"_

The child let go of his hand, raising his head up to let cracks form on the glass; Link squeaked and put a hand up to the glass but the child did not even bother to look at him; the last of the glass clattered on the floor to reveal another drawing on the stone behind it. Another little sapling was carved into the stone, but this time it was larger and was covered in spring leaves with the tiniest of details; Link shivered and rubbed his shoulders only to bring his right hand forward to see that there was a spring leaf in it; he quickly found the blossom he had been given from the previous mirror and held them up;

Blossom of the spring

Leaf of the summer

There were two more mirrors. He was sure of it. The part he was not sure of was why he wanted to look at them, they gave him no clues to finding his father, no, they raised more questions on why he left them, did he not love them? And that man, the one that had helped them get to the Fairy Fountain, that voice, he had heard it before, very recently in fact, and his words, they sounded like they had more meaning than his parent's knew. What did he say again?

_"I am a man of many faces…"_ That meant he had a double life. Why would he need a double life? He could understand given the fact he was banished if he was still in Hyrule but his father had said he had been living in 'his country' Was this 'Tempus' from a different nation originally? Or was his father? Link groaned and leaned back against the walls with his head in his hands; Pippa wormed her way under his arm and leaned on his side, puffing her chest out as she sat. She knew he was confused and did not really know how to deal with it.

Zelda opened her eyes to stare at the huge chime that hung from the ceiling, made out of dried seaweed that when it bounced off other chime pieces it blew a tune that changed depending on which way the wind was blowing from the window in the roof. She sat up after listening to the gentle tune for a while and smoothed out her tunic before slipping her boots on. She had not seen Link since they-she argued, she wondered if he was alright, but her first stop was to check on Cole, he was not one for sleeping in, he would be playing a few sour notes on the giant piano made from polished bone in his room out of curiosity in his room but his door was swinging on its hinge and his bed was empty; there were no Zora in the Hall to ask if they had seen him so she glanced into Link's room; again, empty, the bed was still made from the morning before, had he even returned last night? Rolling her eyes she dragged her feet to Rosie's room and cried out in horror at the sight that met her eyes; Rosie's bed clothes were torn on the floor and the furniture was destroyed, not to mention the door was broken, what had happened last night?!

She backed out of the room and ran out of the Hall.

"Cole?! Link?! Rosie?! Where are you?!" she screamed out to sea, causing the few Zora in the sea fishing for their breakfasts to raise their heads from the cover of the waves.

"What a pair of lungs you have." a female voice cooed removing a closed clam shell from around a young Zora's finger.

"Lulu!" Zelda cried rushing up to a Zora in a dark blue dress "Have you seen the others?"

"Not since yesterday I'm afraid, have they gone missing?" Lulu replied patting the child on the head

Zelda rolled her eyes "Duh!"

"Manners, Zelda, you may be a Princess but that is not excuse." Lulu spoke, her voice sharp

"Sorry. I'm worried, that's all." Zelda replied looking at her feet

"Rosie is sick is she not?" Lulu asked "Rumour has it that the Plague of the Dead is changing people into ferocious animals."

"It's the first I've ever heard of it." Zelda said swallowing hard, reminding herself of Rosie's room

_Claws._

Zelda went pale, if Rosie had turned into a beast, then it was possible that she could have eaten Cole! Or worse, Link could have shot her! He rarely missed so Rosie had claimed and he had stolen from a shop with nothing but a bow and mask for two years.

"Zelda, are you alright?" Lulu asked, Zelda did not answer and stared forward. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a large inhale before revealing a dagger from inside her boot. Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked in the direction of the river.

Rosie groaned and raised her head from the grass; her head was spinning, had she been sleep walking? Why was she here? She pushed herself up off the ground; pulling herself into a crouch, she was so cold! She made an attempt to stand up but it was no use, she was famished and freezing. She glanced down at her bare knees rubbing them with her hands…why were her knees bare? Where were her clothes?! She let out a shriek that sent a roosting bird nearby squawking in a panic

"Ow. Man, what happened?" a moan came, Rosie lay back on the floor her backside winking at the sun

"Cole?" Rosie squeaked, spotting his legs sticking out behind the roots of a nearby tree

"Who's that?" Cole's voice called, the legs moved

"Don't you dare turn around!" Rosie snarled folding her arms

"Rosie? Oh thank goodness, it was a dream; I dreamed you were eaten by a Wolfos." Cole whispered holding up Rosie's tattered tunic in his hands "Um…the reason you don't want me to look is…"

"Yes, give it!" Rosie screeched.

"I honestly don't know why I had it!" Cole squealed when Rosie came out from behind the bushes in the tattered tunic, the tears going across the stomach and legs; she held the left shoulder in her hand to keep the chest upright, she was thankful in the fact that Cole was a gentleman. "Would you um like my cape?" Cole offered holding it out to her; Rosie snatched it out of his outstretched hand and wrapped it around her shoulders, tying it tightly around her neck.

"I don't know how you got it." Rosie grunted, giving him a rather hard slap on the cheek

"Ow!" Cole yelped rubbing his cheek "I'm telling you, I found it on the floor in your room in a dream, I don't know how I got it in real life!"

Rosie slapped him again "Well you obviously went in my room!"

"Cole?!" Zelda's voice rang over the horizon

"Zelda, over here!" Cole shouted waving a hand to the silhouette of a young lady thrashing through the forest

"There you two are! Where have you been?!" Zelda roared giving him a light slap on the arm "You've had me worried sick!"

"We're not even sure how we got here." Rosie spoke, stamping on Cole's foot

"Hey, stop it! I didn't do anything!" Cole grimaced "We must have slept walk!"

"What?" Zelda said swallowing hard "The rooms are all empty, yours is in a frightful state, Rosie, and well, Link's hasn't been slept in."

"He's _still_ not back?!" Cole spluttered holding his arm "When did he last eat?"

Just like he had been summoned, they heard a snore nearby, glancing up into the trees they found Link lounging over a thick branch high in the tree; his bow and quiver hanging from the branches above and dog curled up on his lap with a rope tied around her waist. They all opened their mouths.

"How long has he been there?" Zelda stammered, Cole closed her mouth with a hand

"I want to know how Pippa got up there, never mind him!" Cole said giving a nervous chuckle "Dogs aren't really for climbing trees."

Rosie rolled her eyes and stood at the roots of the tree before swinging up onto the nearest branch at an almost blinding speed, her feet hardly pausing for footfalls as she made her way to wake him. Link gave her a dazed look, almost like he had just managed to get to sleep; hardly noticing his sister shaking his shoulders

"Oi!" Rosie shouted giving him a smack on the back of the head, Link opened his eyes fully and lost his balance, dropping down the branches like he were a ton of bricks till he hit the floor with a groan, his bow slipping itself on his shoulders. He rubbed the back of his head, squeezing his tired eyes shut in a yawn. Pippa landed next to him, jumping down from branch to branch carefully and slowly, grinning as she did so.

"I know exactly how you feel. I've had enough of you women hitting me and he's had it more." Cole grunted helping the sleepy and sore bloke up

Zelda came closer to them "So what now?"

"Breakfast." Rosie answered sliding down from the trunk, Link tugged at Rosie's arm as a young woman came out of the bushes, Cole jumped out of his skin.

"It's you! You saved me in the dream!" he stammered pointing a finger at the woman that took Link's arm

"Who are your friends, Link?" she asked, Zelda turned bright red.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well, that dart Aurora hit Cole with certainly confused him, didn't it? But Tempus and Ezekiel knew each other, are they from the same land? Or from different ones? Ezekiel seemed to be a caring man, why would he leave Link and Rosie? Does he even know what's happening to them? Pippa climbed a tree, that's new, how did she even get up there? Why would Tempus be banished? Is that why he hates the royals? SO MANY QUESTIONS!


	26. Stubbornness Gets You Nowhere

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty Six - Stubbornness Gets You Nowhere

Cole had never seen anyone eat as fast as she did. Aurora had scoffed down a third helping of fish pie with potatoes and herbs and was _still_ asking for more; Rosie had eaten two helpings which was understandable with not eating the day before but Link had just a small helping, not even that, most of it was shoveled around the edges of his plate; the other hand had made itself at home on his cheek; eventually he gave up and left the table; vanishing into his room for a few hours sleep. Cole decided to follow before war broke out between the girls, he had seen it; the death glares from Zelda's direction, the silent slurping from Aurora and the constant slam of the plates on the table from Rosie that sent Link sprawling for a few moments.

He knocked on Link's closed door to hear nothing on the other side, he opened it a touch to find Link was fast asleep already and Pippa was nowhere to be seen; he had not seen much of her since the night before; it was strange for her to be away from him, not to mention when he was asleep; he remembered the scene with the tent and shuddered, that pup was good at getting into your head.

"Pippa?" Cole called; no pounding footsteps, no pounces from behind. Strange. Link was too tired to go looking for his friend, so he decided not to get involved in a punch up between the girls; and go look for her, the only female that did not hate him or at least not hurt him somehow.

Aurora placed a cup down on the table, forcing some of the liquid inside to spill out onto the surface.  
"Well, I don't know about you, but I think I'll go check up on Link. He is a very nice boy, a bit quiet though."

Rosie chewed the cup she sipped on hard with her teeth so that the marks on the cup were left  
"That is because he can't talk." she snarled

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy?" Aurora smirked poking a finger into her cheek

"Of course not! I'm his sister! I'm just irritated with being ill that's all." Rosie sighed rubbing her shoulders

"I wasn't directing that comment at you." Aurora chuckled turning her head a little to see Zelda gritting her teeth "Am I right, Princess?"

"Get lost!" Zelda remarked turning a new shade of red "Link can sleep all day, I don't care."

"He does." Rosie muttered stabbing her fork rather hard into the pie "When he was a thief he would sleep all day and be awake all night, he's still not used to being awake at this hour, he turns into a zombie."

Aurora flinched and her right hand touched her whip hanging from her hip, she cleared her throat "Anyway, I'm here to act as a guide, I told Link this."

"We don't need a guide. We have a map." Zelda snapped standing up so fast the table moved

"Oh yes, about your map, water plus a mutt doesn't mix." Aurora sighed glancing over her shoulder to a tiny green bird sitting on a lamp high up on the wall; his wings outstretched "I sent her away after finding the shreds."

"If you think I'm bad, you should see what Pippa is like to other women who get on her nerves." Rosie muttered just loud enough for the others to hear. Zelda nearly spat out her drink.

Aurora snorted and turned on her heel to exit the hall, the green bird following her out till they arrived at a secluded area of the beach; the waves were choppy now and the wind was strong against the current; her hair whipped against her face as she wandered off.

"Well, did you locate him?" she asked folding her arms as the bird fluffed up his feathers to transform into his Hylian form

"We did, Goron Mountain; he won't come back here though, he disguised himself with one of Tempus's masks. And by the looks of that argument, I say your mission is not going well either." the bird-masked man grumbled, rubbing a little dust off his arms

Aurora sighed and sat down next to him "The girls are having a silent war and somehow I've gotten into it and the boys keep their distance. Cole and Link have found friendship; but that's not enough to awaken more of his power, Sky."

"I took his dream as we agreed." the bird-masked man mumbled crossing his arms "You're just going to have to act like a mortal."

"I will do no such thing!" Aurora snarled pushing him backwards over the rock "Mortal matters are not of my concern; this is a job set to me by my master and you will respect him!"

Sky rolled his eyes "You play a good mortal, Aurora, but you are only skin deep; mortals learn, change and grow from their experiences. They all play a part in fates design, why would the sea allow Link to live for Tempus to find him? Why would the world?"

"You know that the birth of Link and Rosie was almost sacred! But it was chance that it worked to this day. You know Rosie would have died without Link being born to save her from her fate."

"That he did. Light cannot exist without shadow; this is why the illness chose Rosie and it's only going to get worse; in her painful times, Link will be a target, if one kills the other, then they both will die. This is the problem."

"I won't let it happen, I protected him once, I will do it again."

"Aurora, you are not in the clouds anymore I'm afraid; you have to learn on your own feet not by watching. I would give anything to go back but this was my fault with going into the Grove in the first place. I discovered the Arrow Birds and set them free from their nest; the fourth hatched long ago." Sky commented holding his chest "It gave a gift only Link could have."

"I know that, Sky. Don't question me, I'm just annoyed at the fact that the group is so…"

"Disbanded?"

"That. I don't know what I can do about it, Link understands and accepts my role, he sees me as I am, Amalie and Glint also know. I can't believe I haven't found them yet."

"With respect, Amalie did come a long way, she could be anywhere. As for Glint, well, he went missing an over a decade ago. I'm surprised your master let you out of his sight."

"That's the thing. They need to come home, Master misses them."

"He didn't seem too bothered about Amalie when she was born. He sent her down from the clouds and clipped her wings so she couldn't return. Glint had been gone for years beforehand but he left of his own accord, leaving you alone."

Aurora bit her lip "Respect my master, Sky."

"I do. I just don't think he was fair to her and I still don't, she wasn't even old enough to leave even by human standards."

"Enough! I will not have you talk about Master this way! Resume your schedule; I will get them moving even if I have to drag them." Aurora snarled giving him a hard slap

"I'm allowed opinions, Aurora, and dragging mortals around is no easy task, I failed to get two talking and I know more about mortals than you." Sky said rolling his eyes and spreading his arms out to transform into his other form. Aurora gnashed her teeth as the bird flew away into the afternoon sky across the sea.

"Who are you, Aurora?" a voice asked, Aurora flinched and twisted her head sharply to find Cole leaning on a stone wall like the start of a Western movie; Pippa was snarling at her through locked teeth.

"I am Aurora. Everything else is on a need to know basis." she replied brushing a hand through her hair to reveal the bamboo necklace. Pippa barked a warning that Aurora flinched at "How much did you hear?"

"Funny, you act like a Gerudo. Yet Gerudo don't like men; why would you take Link's arm without trying to murder him first? He seems relaxed in your company." Cole accused folding his arms "I heard enough, that man and that bird are the same aren't they?"

"Who's to say I didn't try first?" Aurora growled coming closer, Pippa leaped forward, her paws digging into the sand as she stopped just short of her legs. Smart Hylian is smart.

"Because a Gerudo would never save a man's life; let alone shake his hand." Cole sniggered holding his hand out palm side up. Aurora took a step back and drew the bamboo necklace up to her mouth, Cole raised an eyebrow and waited for the projectile to fire; he held up a piece of wood that the needle stuck into, he twanged it for good measure.  
"So, what do you want to do?"

Aurora looked at him with sad eyes, Sky was right, mortals do learn and quite fast. She sighed "Fine. Yes, I am the Aurora. I am looked at by many people, I see many things; when Link and Rosie was born I shone so brightly and when my siblings were lost, I lost my light. They are key to finding my them!"

Cole jumped his eyebrows came down into concern "You are the Aurora Borealis? Why are you so hostile? Aren't you meant to be-"

"You would be hostile too if you lost your siblings!" Aurora roared "I need help to find them! Please!"

"What has Link and Rosie finding their father got to do with this?" Cole asked slicing the air to make Pippa stand down.

"It is important. They are beacons of light and when they are happy they will shine; showing the path to my siblings." Aurora spoke sitting in the sand, her head down "My older brother, Glint, he went missing upon Link and Rosie's birth, Amalie, my younger sister, only recently. I need to find them and bring them home."

"There must be another reason, Link is Half-Shadow; how can he be a beacon of light?"

"You must keep this to yourself." Aurora sighed, glancing over her shoulder. "Link may have his father's blood and bone, but his mother is the one who had the most impact on him; he is not a Half-Shadow anymore…"

Sky flew through the cold and stormy night towards Hyrule, landing on an evergreen tree to rest for a while at the shoreline of Lake Hylia. He was tired, frustrated and irritated with Aurora's behaviour, but he could understand how much the Realm of Heroes meant to her, not being used to a shell, she was ruthless, narrow minded and rude but as her form allowed her, she had true beauty, something that had grown with the more people that marveled at her. She had not shone in the skies this year; no one had seemed to notice, maybe that was what was infuriating her so. Sky lowered his wings and looked up at the sky; not a star shone through the thick clouds that threw snow onto the land, no one would miss her tonight. He chirped a low song, one that had him tearing up in his youth, long, long ago; it had been the same song his companion had sung when they were together; they had parted. The Grove was where she was housed, he would give anything to see her again in the Realm of Heroes, Link was important to him this way, if he could open the gate then he could hear her sing and dance again like no time had passed. That was the thing with the Realm of Heroes; time made no difference to the animals within it, giving them an immortal life and an immortal legacy. Sky shivered on his perch and broke into flight again, he wondered, what did Tempus need from the boy that was so important?

It was the next afternoon before he landed; Tempus was below, finishing off a Kesse he had caught in his wolf form; however he was being much more dignified about it, his hard working hands carefully roasting the meal on a spit over a warm fire.

He said nothing when Sky landed on his raised knee, his face was low. "He won't leave. Not for his children, not for anyone." Tempus sighed turning the spit wire "He keeps saying that it's too dangerous for him to return to the Shadow Folk of Fire in Termina and doesn't want to put them in any more danger."

"Doesn't he understand what has happened to them? And what will?" Sky mumbled transforming back into his Hylian form, pacing around the fire

"He won't have it." Tempus grumbled "People like him make me feel so ill. He's abandoning his children! Things are different now. He's not seen them in fourteen years!"

"Thirteen, actually." a voice spoke accompanied by footsteps on the red hot rock "They are not sixteen till the Orange Moon."

"You should be ashamed, Ezekiel." Tempus snarled nearly kicking over the spit as he got up "I would never do this to my family! Your wife is dead, your daughter is ill and your son was nearly chopped in Hyrule! Why don't you help them?!"

"I still love them, Tempus. They are my world." Ezekiel replied folding his arms over a red tunic with a purple stripe running across the centre.

"Liar!" Tempus screamed pointing a finger "You have done nothing for your children since you left and you choose not to now! You are a terrible husband and father! They are searching for you and they are going to find out what an awful man you are and how they were better off not knowing you!"

"Cool it, Tempus!" Sky hissed grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back, the Sheikah man did not move, though it showed quite clearly that the words had hurt.

"If I go to them, the Sheikah of Termina would kill them and me too." Ezekiel sighed turning away "I'm sorry, men."

Tempus looked like he was going to burst into tears with sadness and rage "You have to forget that! They need you!"

"If you're such the family man, why not take my place as you did with Mikau?"

"Because their father was dead! You were such a kind and caring man when Malon was alive! Did that die with her?!"

Ezekiel marched over and gripped Tempus's collar, his fists were clenched as he pulled him off the ground; the men stared at each other for a long time, invisible daggers firing into each other's eyes. Sky tore them apart; the pair looked like they were going to explode at any moment.

"I will not have you make the biggest mistake of your life, Ezekiel." Tempus growled drawing his sword from a scabbard on his back under his cape. Sky groaned and took a step back; taking a purple shield with a silvery face from his pouch "I was ordered to stay away from them, you did this by choice!"

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow and changed his stance; drawing two sias out of nowhere and twisted them in his hands till his wrists clicked "You could never understand what pain I go through. You are not a father!"

The men lunged at each other

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

CHARACTERS! Well, we finally have Ezekiel make an appearance or has he already been in the story? 'Disguised in one of Tempus's masks.' ... What does that suggest? Tempus is very fatherly isn't he? He's really annoyed, but that's probably why he's been hard to find due to his well, not Hero of Time looks, what did Ezekiel say? And Aurora, bet you weren't expecting that were you?! Ha! Cole is really smart and Pippa is almost a weapon.


	27. Stolen And Strength

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty Seven - Stolen And Strength

****

The clang of metal rang through the rock as the adults attacked; their muscles strong and filled with anger. Tempus pushed on his blade, a finely crafted sword from the blacksmith with a yellow hilt; Ezekiel bent over backwards, his sias catching the blade in the groves, his hands shook under Tempus's weight but Tempus was a powerful swordsman with more than twenty five years of experience to play with. Tempus twisted his sword in the sias, almost knocking them out of Ezekiel's hand but Ezekiel held firm, dropping a hand down to correct his balance and deliver a sharp kick to Tempus's shoulder blades; Tempus lost his balance allowing the Shiekah to slip underneath the Hylian and slice his eye, twisting the sias as if to demonstrate a point. Tempus flipped back up onto his feet without a seconds' thought and drew his bow; Ezekiel stood firm for a moment as the man shot an arrow in his direction. He vanished in a flash of light from a Deku nut. Tempus drew another arrow back to his cheek and let his good eye swivel across the landscape, turning almost silently to face all compass directions.

Sky raised his shield and crouched down to make himself as small as possible avoiding the dirty and pained looks in Tempus's direction. Tempus turned around but saw nothing on the ridges, no man or beast, he sighed and pouched his bow and arrows.

"He's a pathetic man that isn't worth my time." Tempus snarled sitting on the rock almost ignorant of his injury. Looking at Sky's shield; he let out a snort and reached into his pouch to bring out a strange magnifying glass with a blue diamond over the centre of the lens and three pointing triangles on the top. "Resorting to tricks are you?"

Tempus held the magnifying glass up till it floated on its own accord and stood up, positioning the floating lens upward. He could see Ezekiel hiding in the shadows, under a spell of invisibility that he had seen in the temple that showed the evil of his tribe.  
Tempus charged, sword held high. Ezekiel watched him come before jumping up into the air and landing on the very metal of his sword. Tempus growled as his arm shook under the man's weight, Ezekiel seemed almost calm. Ezekiel went for Tempus's blind eye, missing as he cocked his head to the side.

"Stop it! Stop it both of you!" Sky screamed drawing his own blade with a red handle and raising it skyward so the sun gleamed off it; it began to shine brightly till it glowed snow white. Tempus swallowed hard as Sky brought the sword down to send a large ring of light bolting towards them at such a fast pace that both men were caught in it; sending them flying. "Enough!"

Tempus recovered quickly "I will not be done with him till he admits he's a bad father!"

"I am not a bad father! I left them so they could live!" Ezekiel snarled jumping back up, hugging his stomach where Sky's bolt had hit him. "You wouldn't understand."

Tempus growled covering his blind eye "I care for those children!"

"They aren't yours to care about!" Ezekiel roared trying to get up, Sky blocked his attack with his sword while stopping Tempus's with his shield, his arms shaking as the pair fought him to get closer

"Well someone has to!" Tempus shouted making Sky draw his ears back.

"Men; that is enough!" Sky bellowed, hushing them "I don't want to hear anymore. Regardless of who cares more, it is Link and Rosie's decision to accept, not ours."

"They're my kids!" Ezekiel moaned "No child should have to be on the run!"

"Your son _is_ on the run!" Tempus yelled "And you haven't even helped them once!"

"Tempus, calm down." Sky spoke "Ezekiel, they need you now, fear or not."

That restored the silence for a moment.

Pippa had grown bored of the barks, grunts and whines between the two-legged and had gone back to Master's den; he was sleeping sprawled out on the rags that made up his bed, his flat, furless face lying on the softest places; the fur on the top of his head brushed over his closed eyes. She jumped up on the bed and pawed Master's arm; he grunted something in his sleep and turned over as he did when he was sleepy. She licked Master's cheek and lay down, her head lying on his stomach and thumped her tail against his nose, getting faster and faster till he sneezed and opened an eye. He stroked her behind the ears when she turned around with the corners of his mouth turned up; Pippa licked his cheek again and put her fore paws on his shoulders,

_Play with me, Master!_

Master yawned and sat up, scratching her belly playfully with one paw and kept the other on the rag in his fur.

Link knew she wanted to play, she had got used to the others now but still preferred being with him and still got territorial over who got close; he still had no idea where her jealousy towards other women had come from, it certainly had not been from him. She was getting quite big now; he could not really call her a pup for much longer, she was also getting tall, her head was past his knee and he could no longer carry her on his shoulder; she missed this from time to time but for someone so young, she had learned her place well. She never bit anyone, even in play but he knew he had to correct her if she did; he had to be prepared for bursts of her canine nature. Link rolled his eyes and smiled, climbing off the bed he marched to the door to find the Zora hall packed with Zora; there was a lot of commotion around the stage where a group of young Zora were playing their instruments, including a young female singing at the top of her lungs. He wished he could sing; he wished he could speak, even for a day; there were so many words on the tip of his tongue he wanted to say and people he wanted to say them to. Some of which, would never hear them.

He stayed in the background listening to a song that they played for a while till Pippa started pawing his leg in boredom; he let out a chuckle and exited, coming out to the moonlit beach. Pippa barked at him, wagging her tail as Link reached for something in the sand; pulling out a small, Pippa-sized stick out of the sand; he waved it to get her attention before throwing it out across the white sand. He leaned against a tree and waited for Pippa to return.

"It's a nice night." Zelda whispered, her feet barely making a sound on the sand

Link nodded and looked up at the pale moon overhead

"Not to cold but clear enough." she sighed standing next to him

Link cocked his head and pointed to a bruise on her cheek

"Oh, Rosie punched me; it's alright, I kinda deserved it for what I said earlier." Zelda said with a light chuckle

Link sighed and brushed a hand through his hair; kneeling down to pick up Pippa's stick

"Can I throw it?" Zelda asked holding her hand out

Link shrugged and handed the stick over, Zelda tossed it away and the little brown blur ran off. Zelda turned bright red and edged closer to Link, putting a hand on his shoulder

"I've um…been thinking." Zelda whispered bringing her hand down to his elbow "I'll be sixteen soon and I was…wondering if…if you would like to come to the ball…on my birthday?"

Link reached down for the stick and laughed, raising an eyebrow as he did so.

"I'm serious, Link!" Zelda shouted "I would like to invite you and Rosie to the ball on my birthday."

Link laughed even harder and threw the stick again, dancing in front of all those snobbish nobles and uptight soldiers he had spent the last few years _avoiding_, did she even know what name he had given himself? He was still a thief on the run from the law. What was she even thinking?

"Why are you laughing?!" Zelda roared letting go of his arm "I'm trying to say-" she did not even get to finish her sentence; tears were streaming down her face.

Link coughed his laughter down and sighed, wishing he could explain why it was impossible to come but Zelda ran off. He rubbed his shoulders and sat down by the palm tree with his knees raised

"Now what's wrong with you?!" Aurora's moan came,

Link recoiled, where had she come from?! He gave an audible groan and threw out his hands palm up

"Women are confusing creatures, Link." Aurora mumbled sitting in the sand next to him "Do you know how to dance?"

Link shook a hand. Pippa bounded over and dropped the stick in Link's lap

"So what's the problem? If you can dance, why can't you go to the ball?"

Link cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, throwing his arms up into the air; Aurora paid close attention to the movement of his lips.

"Your reputation, huh? I doubt that would be a problem when her birthday comes round in the spring, Link. But we'll see." Aurora said with a smile "In the meantime, go 'talk' to Zelda. Perhaps your skating skills may come in handy."

Link rolled his eyes and whistled for Pippa to come to his side. He was not sure what was worse, an angry Zelda or a bored Pippa…

Angry Zelda, definitely angry Zelda.

"He just laughed, Cole!" Zelda cried, clinging onto her brother's shoulder

"I can understand why, Zelda. He's a fugitive in Hyrule; going to the ball is the worst thing he could do now." Cole replied rubbing Zelda's back

"But why would he laugh? I told him I was serious!" Zelda yelled the tears waterfalling down her cheeks

"It's not like he can do much else. I'm sure he didn't mean it." Cole sighed, he was getting tired of this, he had been here for over an hour. He wanted to see the band and show his support for the young group but no, he was stuck in here. Something scratched on the door from the outside. Cole jumped up and opened the door before Zelda could say anything. Pippa was sitting looking quite cross at the door; for more than one reason it seemed; her hind leg was scratching a piece of paper that was in her collar. Cole crouched down and took it out carefully so not to rip it; he opened it up and smiled.  
"Zelda…I have a note for you." Cole said waving the piece of paper in front of her red face, she snatched it off him

_"Dear Zelda,_

_I'm sorry for laughing earlier. It was wrong of me but you must understand why I did it, I am a thief and although you don't see me this way; it doesn't change what the town thinks. I want to make it up to you and to tell you I'm sorry, follow Pippa to where I am, please Princess?_

_Link."_

Zelda sighed "What should I do?"

"He clearly wants to make it up to you." Cole mumbled scratching the back of his head "And he did apologise."

"Fine, I'll go see what he wants." Zelda said rubbing her red nose and sliding off the bed "Come on, Pippa."

Link was sitting down on a rock by the small pond of water he had fallen into by what seemed to be years ago and drew an ice arrow from his quiver and tightened up his boots. He could hear Pippa's pounding footsteps nearby and drew the blades out from underneath his shoes; the water froze under his direction with the ice arrows power as Zelda came around the corner.

"I'm here, Link. What do you want?" Zelda snorted wiping her eyes with her sleeves "It's too dark to see."

She heard Link sigh and skate over to her using the light of the ice arrow to guide him. After a moment of silence he swapped to the fire arrow and skated backwards a few paces before spinning on the spot; the arrow's flame flying across thick branches covered in tree blood that were on the outer edges of the ice.

"And this is your apology? A few spins and job done?" Zelda muttered folding her arms.

Link sighed again pointed the fire arrow to a pair of white boots leaning against the rock he had been sitting on; the gleam of the torches shone off them and reflected back into her eyes

"What on earth?" she whispered picking them up "You…you bought me…skates?"

Link nodded and turned to the side slightly, Zelda beamed and reached inside to find another note hidden between the tongue and sole of the skate

_"I made these for you. Skate with me, Princess?"_

She wasted no time in lacing up the skates around her feet and awkwardly stepped onto the ice; Link diving straight over to catch her before she fell. He was smiling when she got her balance.

"I'm not much of a skater, Link." Zelda whispered "And you are not off the hook yet."

Link laughed and brought her hands up to his shoulders, letting her balance on him fully, he kept his stance upright and his legs spread out so that if she fell, he would not fall on her. He could see that she was unsure on her feet and that her face was focused downward to the ice; he let out a light chuckle and gently placed two fingers on her chin, raising it up to look at him.

"Link, I can't-" Zelda squeaked losing her footing and slipped down; Link stood firm and held her at her elbows so her knees would not touch the ice below and pointed to his face with a smile. "I can't keep my balance if I don't know what I'm doing!"

Link shook his head and skated backwards very slowly to bring her back up onto her feet and held her waist; hoping he would not get a slap but Zelda was staring at him, her hands gripping onto the cloth of his shoulders, not daring to let go.

It was slow at first, the choppy left-right march across the ice that Link had to refreeze a few times before he felt her grip on his shoulders loosen a little allowing him to skate a little faster and much less stiff; Zelda soon started shivering from the cold as a few snowflakes drifted down from the sky above, so Link called it quits for the evening. He twisted around so that she was only holding onto one shoulder and took her hand, wrapping his warm fingers around her cold ones and spun her slowly on the spot; her on the inside and him providing all the power on the outside before coming in slightly; their bodies close.

"That was nice." Zelda whispered when Link stopped

His cheeks were rosy with the cold and his purple eyes were soft as he made a move to lead her off the ice

"Link, wait a moment." she said tightening her grasp on his hand

Link stiffened and inhaled sharply, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up on end.

Zelda cocked her head "Link?"

Link shook his head with a smile, he had felt it, that feeling of being watched, Zelda brushed some hair out of his face and put her hands on his chest to steady herself on the ice again, he hugged her to keep her upright

"I have no words." Zelda whispered raising her head and to give him a peck on the cheek; her eyes slowly shut as she stood tall.

"Go!" a female voice yelled; their painted body jumping out from the safety of the bushes. The area was brightly lit up with torches of all colours and ropes were thrown across the teens; Zelda screamed as painted hands seized her arms and pulled her to her knees as did with Link; dark handkerchiefs were clasped over their mouths and noses, causing them to cough and wheeze for breath. Even so, their eyelids began to drop and their bodies turned limp.

"Take them to the Chieftain!" the female voice echoed "We finally have them!"

"N-No! You..you can't…do..." Zelda spluttered watching with blurred eyes as Link's unconscious body was carelessly tied up.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I hate how I wrote this fight, is it clear enough? My anxiety has been really high, I couldn't think straight  
Anyway, Tempus is a really caring man isn't he? Not to mention Sky, who knows what that attack was? I'm such a mean author aren't I? There was nearly a kiss there between Link and Zelda but noooooooopleasedon'tkillme, that ice skating scene was nice though, he made her her own skates, aww. Who would you pick? Angry Zelda or bored Pippa?


	28. Brainwashed Tribes

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty Eight - Brainwashed Tribes

"Ouch…" Zelda whined rubbing the back of her head; what happened? Where was she? She glanced around to find a wrist was chained behind her back to a beam in the centre of the room; her head was spinning and all she could smell was strawberries. Something groaned behind her and a pair of legs moved just in the field of her vision; "Link is that you?" she asked

"Zelda? Are you alright?!" Cole's voice squeaked "What happened?"

"Me and Link were skating and we were attacked." Zelda whispered edging herself round to look her brother in the face

"I was talking with Aurora, the next thing we knew we were surrounded." Cole replied; grimacing slightly as he tried to stand up. Zelda twisted her head to spot Aurora in the corner chained to the wall; her head down and her hair covering her face; she was still asleep, Rosie was too, but Link was beginning to stir; his eyes were bloodshot and he looked very weak; almost like he was struggling to breathe."Link, are you okay?" Cole asked shimming around

He looked up at him briefly with half open eyes; he did not look well at all, his cheek bones were pressed up against his skin and his limbs were shaking forcing the chains to rattle; he groaned and fell on his side; groaning in pain.

"Stomach cramps?" Cole suggested, Link groaned and turned over so he was facing the wall

"Remember what I told you, Cole." Aurora hissed groaning at the floor "He can see the illness; it's everywhere."

Cole bit his lip and leaned over as much as the chains would let him "Sit up, close your eyes and don't open them."

Link shrugged his shoulders and turned back to face Cole, shutting his eyes; his body seemed to relax and his breathing evened out.

"Wha-?" Zelda mumbled

"I'll tell you later." Cole remarked glancing around "Where's Pippa?"

She had no idea what she was doing, none. Upon instinct of her Master's capture she had just ran, running away was not her style and she had no clue to why her instinct was telling her to run away or more run towards. The whistle from that strange bone had rang in her ears and she knew that that sound meant the two-legged-of-many-faces; perhaps if she went to find him, he would help her get Master back. But could she not handle this on her own? She had rescued Master before, but why would her legs choose not to help now?

She was so confused so sat down for a moment to take a pant and to gather her thoughts, they had taken Master to a place of hot wind, but it was not high, no this place used to be filled with wet, not dust like normal. She had followed them part of the way but Master had not responded to her barks, nor had she been able to chew his binds to get him to run on his own. She was in a two-legged place, one filled with the species all busy with their lives but there was a dog jumping around after a small plant-like creature as it hid in a flower; its nose sticking out from the petals. The dog was a he-dog, _sniff_ and he wanted to play…since when did playing involve them running away in fear? Could this he-dog not understand fear? Pippa trotted over and yapped at the he-dog, wiggling her backside and jumping on her forepaws

_Play!_

The he-dog growled at her and snorted a remark that she did not understand; she tried again edging closer to him but the he-dog pounced on her and sunk his teeth into her leg, she squeaked and kicked him off her stomach only to hear him hiss in complaint; her leg was leaking red wet and it was sore now. She snarled and changed her stance, leaning on three of her legs, her tail straight and her ears low; she was ready.

Wait…_sniff_…that he-dog…_sniff_…was ill, she could see it, a little purple cloud hanging over his head. She growled and lunged for him, attacking the cloud overhead with her body to make it go away; she rolled over colliding with a two-legged and whined as the he-dog began to circle them

"My word!" the he-two-legged yelped rushing off into a den as the he-dog pounced again, pushing her back with his forepaws; she sunk her teeth into his paw, drawing red wet before she kicked him off again, jumping on his back and chewing on his ear like it were a toy

"Bad dog!" a she-two-legged shouted waving a stick of hot-beast at them, the he-dog escaped with a burnt tail, but Pippa stood firm wagging her tail lightly,

_Don't go for the stick, show her you mean no harm._

"Thank you, good dog!" the plant-she-two-legged giggled patting her on the head, it was a bit of a stretch; Pippa was taller than her.

Pippa sat down and licked the plant-she-two-legged, she tasted like tree…and not a very nice tree.

"Where are you going, good dog?" the plant-she-two-legged asked looking at her collar for a nametag. "Are you lost?"

Pippa tilted her head to the side, she did not understand plant language, did all plants here do this?

"Look, you're hurt! Mr Kafei! Mr Kafei!" the plant-she-two-legged squealed jumping from foot to foot "My friend dog is hurt!"

A tall he-two-legged came forward, his dark hair ear length and his eyes the colour of trees. He knelt down to her; Pippa tucked her tail between her legs and backed away slightly. Howling for help, hoping someone would hear.

They did.

Sky had managed to keep the piece for a while, even so, he was running out of potions and plasters from constant stabs, punches and kicks from the pair of them; Tempus was a hot head and had been since he had known him, coming to the Grove as a child on his way back from Termina he had kept him company during the long and lonely years; he was a good friend who would happily share his meal with you, providing you were grateful for it, speaking of meals, he was always grumpy when he did not get his dinner; even more so in wolf form; none the less, the man was a brilliant cook; serving up dishes like Octorock stew and dumplings or Cucco soup with Lon-Lon ranch bread…although the later was a rarity, they remembered who you were…and then it was a question on who was on the menu…Sky shivered noticeably, he knew that Tempus would never put him in a meal…probably…he had crossed that line before…

"What are you shaking for?" Tempus snarled tapping his fork against his plate to bring him back from his thoughts

"Don't cook me." Sky whimpered before he could stop himself

"I wouldn't dream of cooking you…I'd eat you raw." Tempus laughed, the colour on Sky's cheeks faded, Tempus clapped his hands to make the man jump up from his seat in fright

"Don't do that!" Sky wailed clutching his empty plate in his hands

"Why? I'm just being honest." Tempus smirked licking his lips, Sky dropped the plate and transformed into his bird form in a flash of light and flew off into the sky, refusing to stop till he got to Lake Hylia; more than enough distance between him and the hungry hero. He fell for it again! Again! He landed in the grass and transformed once more to lean against an evergreen tree. A hand clasped over his mouth; forcing him to shriek

"Shh!" a voice hissed showing their face,

Sky relaxed "I've had it with Sheikah today, Impa."

Impa folded her arms, "Um yes, I'm here to tell you a tale that might get my brother coming back to the homeland. Stop me if you have heard it before."

Sky rolled his eyes and smoothed out his tunic "Alright, what could you possibly say to me that would sway Ezekiel to go home?"

"The Shadow Folk of Fire have captured them. They took all five of them; Pippa was looking for help but has been stopped in Clock Town. The illness is a lot stronger in Termina, it'll snatch Link up. I would rescue them myself but the Shadow Folk of Water are joining them."

"Wait, you're saying that-"

"No time for conformation, you only have twenty four hours to get him to move or this world is doomed under a plague with no cure!" Impa shouted, making Sky wince; she looked tired.

"Are you alright?" Sky asked catching the falling Sheikah

"I've travelled to and from Termina using my magic, it's drained me. I decided to offer my support if he wasn't-"

"Wait a moment, I'll fly us there." Sky whispered laying her in the snow and stepping back from her body

"Don't be foolish, Sky, he hasn't gotten the third arrow yet, you could damage the power of the mask!" Impa roared

Sky hesitated for a moment "I'm not going to let him eat me!"

"Wha-?" Impa coughed pulling a face as Sky raised his head and swung his arms out; wriggling his fingers he rose himself off the ground; his feet kicking in the air as he hugged his stomach. Something tore through the back his tunic; causing him to turn a little shade of red as a furry Kokiri green tail fell past his legs; it curled and twisted in pain as Sky scrunched his eyes shut; his trousers began to tear and his boots ripped up the seams showing a pair of three toed claws stamp the floor on yellow stick thin legs, he screamed as light green hair burst through his clothes and covered his arms, said arms getting larger and longer till they were twice his height, his hands were gone and had been replaced with razor sharp feathers with dark blue tips. His normal blond hair grew thicker and joined onto his neck like it had been brushed back and his eyes grew larger and moved to the side of his face to reveal a sharp yellow beak; the spell complete, he collapsed on the ground; wings outstretched and double if not triple his original height. He wheezed; his body quivering with aches and pains but he forced himself to stand back up and spread his wings out

"Can you hear me?" Sky whispered, his beak not moving in the slightest

"Perfectly…who wanted to eat you?" Impa spoke staggering over to him and throwing herself on his side; Sky sat down in the snow and curled his tail around the woman

"Tempus said he would eat me raw, let him try and do it now, ha!" Sky smirked, Impa rolled her eyes and pulled herself up onto his back, his fur warm and comfortable; though she would not have minded going to sleep there, she had more important things to do first.

"Where do I hang onto? I've never flown before." Impa mumbled holding her head

"Just hang onto my neck and hang on tightly; Loftwings are fast, dangerous birds." Sky warned as Impa shuffled over to wrap her arms around Sky's neck; Sky threw his wings out with a loud squawk and flapped them slowly, he scratched his claws into the snow and broke into a run flapping his great wings to gain speed and height, poor Impa hanging on for dear life on his back as he caught the wind and flew straight into the clouds like a bolt of lightning.

Rosie leaned on Link's shoulder, she was starting show more and more signs of the illness; her skin was starting to wrinkle around her eyes and mouth and her voice was beginning to deepen in pitch; Link reached for her hand, somewhat guided by her side leaning against his and held it tight, he was frightened too though he was acting strong for his sister's sake. Cole blinked at the similarities between them; he knew they were twins and because of their genders could not be identical but this was the first time he had seen them so close together; their hair was the same colour, it was even changing at the same time too though Link's head looked much thicker and darker than hers due to her being sick; their skin tones were almost the same again Link's being slightly darker; their eyes were the same shape and colour and they were the same height; though Link was without his boots on; the Sheikah had taken them as with Zelda's skates.

"Bring the royals out and give the Princess shoes." a female spoke, standing in front of the cell they were chained into; the doors slid open to reveal the bright light of late afternoon that half blinded them

"No! You have to hear us out!" Cole snapped standing up in front of Zelda

"My son, that is what we intend to do; but not in the earshot of the Half-Shadows and the Divinity."

"These people are our most trusted allies and friends!" Cole roared getting as close to the woman as possible.

"My son, stand down. We mean you no harm. They will be safe here." the female remarked pushing him back slightly to step inside the cell. Now that the sun was not covering her features, he could see what kind of a woman he had shouted at; she was a tall, narrow-hipped woman in her late eighties but the groans from Link and Aurora's directions told him she was much younger than that. Her face was painted: underneath her left eye were two white spots and a long red line crossed her nose, circling the lower of the two; a red tear was tattooed just under her other eye and her other cheek. She had white hair that was braided around her neck like a scarf and fastened over her chest with a clip with an eye in the centre that stared at him; she wore tight clothes of dark grey and blue and was decorated in black bandages around her fingers and arms, not to mention her legs and bare feet which had dark purple flames painted onto them along with each finger and toe having the same design. Cole grimaced, each flame looked like it was smiling evilly at him.

He and Zelda struggled while they were unchained from the wall and forced to walk out into the sunlight; a sea of faces stared at them with red unblinking eyes; the vast majority looking old and barren; though he assumed many were not. He remembered what Malon had looked like on her death-bed; it was this all over again.

They were thrown into a tent and shut inside to breathe in a lungful of grey smoke.

"Come…sit, my children." a male voice cooed from within the cloud of smoke "We have spoken to the Queen, she is furious as are we."

"Let us go! We mean no harm to your culture." Cole snarled coughing into his hands

"I know you mean us no harm, it is the Half-Shadows that do. They are impure, a force on our beloved lands that must be dealt with firmly and without mercy." the male voice sighed, almost out of boredom

"They are good people!" Zelda shouted, making Cole jump

"As you can see, they have you under their spell. We know one of them is the Earth Mage and they shall be the sacrifice we offer to the Gods to banish the plague from our shores! I know you know, you can save a life if you tell us, not that they would live long without their sibling sharing power with them." the male voice informed a hand dived out of the smoke and seized Zelda's; she could feel his fingers almost crushing her wrist

"You can't sacrifice them! It won't do anything!" Cole roared "The Earth Mage _is_ your cure!"

"Exactly." the man wheezed, as if trying to laugh "You have till sunrise to give us the right one…or they will both die. You see, children, there is a matter of the Queen's deal to consider."

Cole and Zelda exchanged a nervous glance.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Writer's block is a cruel thing.

Is this how you pictured the proud Sheikah? A sea of red eyes? Any ideas on why its like this? And the purple flames, where have we seen those before? Pippa is a friendly girl isn't she? But what was the chatty plant? What was that? What did Aurora tell Cole that makes him such and expert on these matters? Tempus is really cheeky isn't he? He loves to joke, it's refreshing to see a Hero of Time that's not sad or annoyed, I think that he would march on, but he has a temper as you saw. How do you think he'll react when he sees Sky next? And what's Impa got to do with Link and Rosie? Why not offer support till now? So many things to think about! Get ready for the headaches!


	29. Acceptance

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Twenty Nine - Acceptance

Zelda and Cole had been thrown in a separate cell from the others; chained back to back on a little up turned box, they were upset and irritable; Cole showed it more however, constantly grumbling and snarling under his breath phrases like: _'They can't do this…'_ or _'They're idiots, they harm who they are meant to help…'_ Zelda meanwhile had tried to think of a plan; she knew Link would be, heck, he would have worked out a way to get out in seconds with a musical number and fireworks to follow. She felt like an idiot; and there were lots of questions why Pippa had run off, she was the type to protect Link against anything; anything from dangerous danger to jealousy regardless on the consequences. She had to say…she missed her…

"You said you would tell me later, it's now later, tell me what's going on between you and Aurora." Zelda sighed leaning back on her brother

Cole considered his words and shuffled a little in his seat "Aurora is an immortal being; she was sent here for two reasons, one of business and the other of personal. Link being involved in both. She knows the past and the present and the world like the back of her hand; she's seen it for herself."

"But what does she have to do with Link?" Zelda asked keeping her voice down

"Link has powers between mortal and immortal; though Aurora is not clear on where in the scale, she believes that he is the only cure for our world, the only proper cure that is. She says he would be able to rid a town of the illness with his power alone now, when at full power; he could rid the entire of Hyrule in one swoop, though she didn't say how."

"So, Link is…a god?"

"No, remember what the Sheikah said? _Earth Mage._ Link can do one of two things; he can give life…or he can take it away. Link can be your worst enemy or your best friend."

Zelda flinched "Does this mean he would kill us?"

Cole weaved a hand through the chains and held Zelda's "Don't let this change how you view him, Link would never harm us and he's too weak to. If he uses his shield for more than a few moments, it drains him; he needs a lot of fire to be able to cast one. I've watched him create one."

Zelda said nothing for a short while. "Does he know what he can do?"

Cole could not answer. Link was a kind soul who would never harm anyone unless he had to and even then it would be a last resort. Question was; why would they just want the Earth Mage? What good would half do?

"HOLY MOTHER OF FARORE!" Tempus shrieked as Sky landed on Goron Mountain; his razor blade wings almost slicing him in half upon landing.

"Try eating me now, you half-baked hero!" Sky screamed opening his beak to squawk, said squawk being so strong that when he stopped, Tempus's hair was firmly blown back into a new hairstyle…and it stayed like that. Impa covered her mouth to stop the giggles from escaping. Though Tempus would love having a laugh with you; he had seen so much in his six bodies and because of this; it was hard to scare and shock him.

"I wasn't going to, I was joking. You are so easy to tease!" Tempus smirked brushing his hair back into its normal place with some difficulty. "Why are you that size anyway?"

"I'm going to fly us to Termina, my way." Sky spoke, puffing out his chest

"You can fly there, but not me." Ezekiel whispered turning around to walk back inside the mountain. Impa slid off Sky's back and ran up to him, grabbing the fabric of his shoulder

"They are already as good as dead without you." she said, rubbing his shoulder "I know you're scared to face them but one of your children will die in the morning if you don't show yourself; do you want to burden them further?"

"I know what Link and Rosie are, now more than ever, but there is nothing I can do." Ezekiel sniffed, a crystal tear rolling down his cheeks "I can't save them now."

Impa turned him around and smiled at him for a moment. "You can. What happened to my little rebel little brother, huh? The one who cared for neither consequences nor sanctions? Link and Rosie have followed in your footsteps without even knowing; Rosie is as smart as a Sheikah scholar and about as grumpy too in the mornings, she can read the book you left her. And what about Link? He can hit a target from almost every direction, he works and trains as hard as a Sheikah teen and has gained the friendship of the royals. They would make honourable Sheikah Guardian if given the chance, possibly even more."

"What are you saying?" Ezekiel asked, lowing his shoulders

"_The Myth of the Twin Gods._" Impa whispered in his ear "_Mortal gods that were born together with opposite powers; born in an act of innocent rebellion…"_

_"One who can give life and the other who can take it away; should they work against each other, they would be at a stalemate. But together; they can be an unstoppable force…_" Tempus joined in

"_Should one perish, the other will lose their power and vanish into nothing. Humble and brave they use the powers of the ground and sky to become who they are, fighting only for the side they see fit..._" Sky added

"_The world is no playground and before the mortal gods are born, one would have already been harmed so the other could live to the full._" Ezekiel ended, throwing his arms down "Yes, yes, I am fully aware of the myth; I left to hide them, you know that!"

Impa clicked her fingers and shuffled to the side as Ezekiel was pinned down by one of Sky's claws

"Either you get on Sky's back on your terms or mine!" Impa snapped as he struggled under Sky's weight. Tempus tightened his belt; Sky had never offered him a ride before.

The cell door opened; Cole and Zelda screwed their eyes shut as the morning sunlight shone through onto them. "Have you made your decision?" the woman from before asked, her tattoos pulsing on her face

Zelda squeezed Cole's hand in fear "We can't tell you."

"Very well, you have decided their fate." she spoke sternly; clicking her fingers for two people to release them and bring them to the show.

They could hardly watch as Link and Rosie were tied together on a post in the middle of a red circle in an oval, Rosie kept glaring at Zelda as the Sheikah fought to put a blindfold over her face; Link seemed to be asleep, he had been thrown around and had accepted the blindfold and gag without any incidents. Huge piles of branches and straw were thrown around them, filling the inside of the oval including the red mark and strange blue powder was scattered on half of the wood; turning a rich shade of green. Aurora had been pulled out of her cell to watch also, but there was a rope around her neck preventing her from moving like a dog. Cole swallowed hard when he saw Link's hand travel to his sister's and squeeze it; he seemed very calm. Perhaps too calm.

"The Half-Shadow do not belong to our tribes, nor our world; we offer these sacrifices to you, the mutations on two perfect races!" a voice howled, not sure on where they were coming from. The logs were lit sending red fire and ash at one end and blue fire and smoke at the other. Cole saw Rosie shift as much as her binding would let her but Link did nothing. Still nothing. He just held Rosie's hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb; his head slowly rose up and even though there was a gag and blindfold on his face, he seemed to be smiling.

Cole reached for Zelda and covered her eyes as the fire around Link and Rosie began to almost lean in his direction before the whole lot was snuffed out and flew towards Link's closed hands. Two neon blue lights could be seen though the blindfold and the bindings around them began to rip and come apart as a blue diamond formed around Link; his ears pricked up as he heard bow strings be pulled back and daggers be drawn; though he could not see them, he raised himself up off the floor and took his sister's hand as he did so; pulling her into the safety of the shield and hugged her tightly as arrows and the odd spear bounced off it; Rosie clung onto Link for dear life and untied their blindfolds

"Link, what's happening?" she squealed looking into his crystalline eyes and got no reaction; he kept a tight grip on her; holding her around the waist and back with his flame covered fingers; though they did not burn or singe her clothes.

He brought them down softly when the arrows had stopped firing at them and allowed Rosie to leave the safety of the shield; the bottom of the diamond broke through the thin layer of melting snow and stony ground below creating sparks and throwing small chunks of rock around. He lifted his arms up from his sides and dispelled the shield; the fire around his fingers changed from their eerie blue tinge to a beautiful green. His ears and eyes travelled across the terrified crowds as if to search for something before lowering his arms with a sigh; he blinked a few times and offered a hand to Rosie; she hesitated for a few moments before taking it; trusting her brother fully once more he brought her in for a hug, her face hidden in his chest as each ill Sheikah began to yowl; screaming in pain as purple smoke and bubbles rose from their chests and shoulders; Link outstretched and arm and roared as a figure appeared high in the sky. Just a figure without face or voice but had a humanesque body.

It faced him; the part that was its head was gazing at the parts that were its hands, flexing the fingers a few times unsurely it walked forward, starting to show a pair of blank white eyes that were mere holes. It thrust an arm out; they could hear Link beginning to choke on his breath as his clothes got tighter around his neck. Rosie turned her head as Link's grasp on her back got loose. She screamed, the very sound of her voice entering a pitch so high that the figure moaned and held the place where their ears would be; losing its hold on Link's breath.

Aurora let out a shout that made Link turn his head as his bow and quiver were thrown at his feet; the powerful arrows slipped out from within their points facing the figure. Link raised an eyebrow and picked them up in his hands; letting them float above his green palms before creating the diamond shield once more. The figure followed him up into the air arms outstretched in an effort to grab him; Link dispelled the shield and stabbed both the fire arrow and ice arrow into the figure's chest; forcing his weight onto the figure, the arrows pierced through the figures body with a scream. Link was thrown to the floor rolling across a roof of a building leaving everyone else to watch the figure roar and scream in pain as it disappeared in a wispy line of smoke.

Rosie rushed into the building and moved some of the rubble to get to her unconscious brother underneath

"Link? Link, can you hear me?!" she shouted feeling for his pulse as a shadow cast over them from the doorway, it was a man of a decent build with a thick crop of dark brown hair, eyes that were blood red and soft towards them; scars crossed his face from tattoos that had once been there and wore a thin red tunic build for the humans and Hylians that ventured into the hottest sections of the Goron Mountain. He looked a little spellbound and a little shy to come closer but slowly made his way forward and started shifting bricks near Link's face.

"Don't touch him!" Rosie spat, her words almost as venomous as the spit that touched his cheeks; how dare they try and help now, not after how they were treated. The man spoke no words and pushed some red tiles away from Link's face and slotted his hands underneath Link's underarms to gently pull him forward; that's when Rosie spotted how their hair looked similar and their faces almost identical. The man rested Link's head on a dusty pillow in the next room and took a step back as Rosie dusted her brother's back free of pieces of tile and wood; her gaze kept meeting the man. Had she mistaken him or was this the man that Link had hoped to find, who their mother had told them of? It made her sick to her stomach knowing that he had vanished from their lives only to expect to be allowed back in like nothing had happened and assume the role of their father. He had never been there, he had not even tried to show his face, Mother had not even told them about him till this day and even then she had been the last to know. She stood up from Link's body and made fists. The man tilted his head to the side like Link did when he was confused, she flinched slightly "Don't do that." she snarled glaring at him

"I'm sorry, Rosie." the man whispered, Rosie let out a scream and slammed her fists into the man's chest pushing him over with a force that half winded him. He rolled over as she tried to strike again and stood back up; catching her wrists as she tried to wallop his chest again. Time seemed to stop for a few seconds as they stared into each others eyes; Rosie gave that dagger glare that meant '_I don't like you._'

"Let go of me!" Rosie snarled, growling like a dog, the man took a firm grip of her chin in his fingers and raised his eyebrows to soften his glare

"Are you finished?" he asked his voice low, almost like a warning

"Not even close!" Rosie roared "I imagine Link would have something to say to you, but since he can't, I'll have to say it for both-" she did not get the chance to complete her threat before her face was brought to into a hard chest and a hard chin rested in her whitening hair. She could hear his heart beat like a war drum of the Gorons, it eased her slightly but she still struggled as strong arms held her close; she took in his scent, a concentrated smell of blood and sweat and fire. She wrapped her arms around his neck as her face began to feel wet, her aim to choke him "You'll never be my father…!"

"Doesn't mean I can't try to mean something to you-" Ezekiel whispered loosening his grip slightly but not letting go of his very angry daughter; how beautiful she looked, even with the illness, she showed so much of his late wife, how he missed her, how he had missed his children over these long years.

"You mean nothing to me-us-you're a stranger!" Rosie howled shuffling back towards Link's body

Ezekiel looked hurt and chewed his lip "Rosie, I know that it's asking a lot and I'm sorry that I left it as late as this; I regret leaving you two and your mother alone like that, but surely she must have told you, isn't this why you came out?"

Rosie shook her brother's shoulders "This is why he came out. As far as I'm concerned, I have no father!"

"Why did you come then? You could have stayed in Hyrule."

"I wanted to help Link. He can't talk. He never has been able to."

"I know and I know why. He sacrificed his voice; a luxury that many people forget about to give you your life."

Rosie stood up slowly, her arms glued to her sides. "Why did you leave us?"

"The Sheikah had found us when you were two. I'm so sorry, Rosie, but know that I ran so that you could live in peace. A life on the run is no life worth living for a child." Ezekiel whispered turning around to take his leave. Something took his hand

"When you hugged me, I felt something on your chest; what is it?" Rosie asked holding his hand tightly; Ezekiel pulled out a chain and pendent from around his neck the shape of a heart and clicked it open. Inside were a bunch of tiny gears all ticking away to show the time and two pictographs, one of their late mother smiling on horseback and the other was of two babies, one fast asleep while the other was giggling with their knees raised; though the pictograph was in black-and-white, the one awake had thick dark hair while the other was much lighter and longer.

"It's the only thing I have to remind me of the life I had." Ezekiel mumbled wiping a tear away and closing the pendent "Your mother gave me this when I left. I have treasured it since then."

Rosie let out a whimper and ran into Ezekiel's chest; holding the fabric of his tunic in her hands, crying. Ezekiel hugged her, allowing her to shed her angry and sad tears and to trickle some of his own too.

He had missed them.

He had missed them so much.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

THAT ENDING! OMG! I don't have many questions about this chapter for you, but I bet you do. Did Ezekiel know what Link and Rosie were? Or...was he guessing? Tempus's hair...just imagine it after being screamed at by Sky; anyone know who Sky is?  
Till next chapter folks


	30. Age In The Canine World

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty - Age In The Canine World

Link lay on his back in a tent wrapped up in warm white sheets, his fingers curled around the blankets tight as gears; his forehead was covered in sweat and his eyes were screwed shut as if in pain. He had been like this for days since he had been recused from the wreckage of the house by Ezekiel and Rosie; the best Sheikah doctors had been at his bedside but there had been no change from his nightmare state.

"Link, snap out of it!" Rosie snarled shaking his shoulder lightly; he let out a quiet moan and gripped the bed sheets to the point of ripping the fabric, his head tossed and turned on the pillows, sinking further in "There must be something you can do, this is your fault!" Rosie shouted pointing a finger at a Sheikah who sat on a sofa at the foot of the bed; said man had a tattooed face with laser red eyes and a pipe as long as his arm leaning on his cheek.

"Your only option is to wait it out, my daughter." the man whistled through his teeth "He is ill."

"You mean, with the…plague?" Rosie gulped clutching her brother's hand

"No, my daughter, your brother can create the strongest shields known to the land, but this power comes at a hefty price. After each shield, though the body becomes resistant; the life within the body weakens. Mortals are not born for this power; we are too fragile." the man answered without a hint of emotion

"And what makes you so informative?" Rosie snapped as Link groaned again

"It is plain to see, my daughter. Link is in great pain and will be till his body heals and that could take a long time." the man said on an inhale "Who knows, he may never wake. He may be stuck in that state till the day he dies."

"Stop it! Stop saying things! Stop it! Stop!" Rosie screamed, her voice shook in her throat. Link's heartbeat quickened its pace and worry creased his face upon hearing his sister scream but he was in too much pain to register it further; the man seemed unfazed, he took a few puffs of his pipe and a moment to consider his words. Rosie flopped on Link's chest, pressing an ear against his heart and rubbed a hand through his hair; using a circular motion to calm him down a touch.

_"Now!"_ a voice snarled, she felt her chest tighten

"No. I will not let you touch him." Rosie cried hugging her stomach; the Sheikah man turned alert and blew a few more puffs of smoke through his pipe

"I never said a word, my daughter." he hushed, his eyes traveling across to her.

_"Now! While the Mage is in hibernation! You will be doing him a favour, sharpen your claws and strike his heart!"_

Rosie let out a wolf-like howl and collapsed by the side of Link's bed; her face began to turn red as her nose grew into a long black snout and night black fur covered her cheeks, her eyes changed from the purple she had learned to accept to lemon yellow with a green pupil in the centre and her ears flicked up as tiny hairs covered them and filled their insides. She stood up and thumped her chest as her clothes began to rip around her giving way to dark fur and finger long claws. She turned on the Sheikah first, straightening her tail as she prowled over; he did not seem the slightest bit worried almost like he had turned to stone.

"My daughter, calm yourself." the man spoke batting her nose as she got close with the pipe "Anger will only stress your brother."

Rosie dug into the floor with her claws and pulled the pipe out of his hands with her teeth.

"These eyes do not see anymore, my daughter, restrain yourself!" the man snarled throwing a Deku Nut at her face; causing the paralysing power to freeze her instantly so the man could simply walk away. The flaps shut behind her leaving Rosie alone with Link.

Tempus stretched out by the fire in his fur, he was still in a rough mood with Ezekiel and though he had gained a little respect from him for finally taking orders, even if it was from Impa and not him. Sky had gone to sleep by the fire with Impa resting in his wings; she found it very comfy; no, he had got too used to sleeping rough in wolf skin than in a bed. He opened a sleepy eye yawned, showing his pearl white teeth and pink tongue to Cole who was not to happy sitting next to him; but as the wind-up-merchant he had grown to be; he had made sure that his tail was constantly thumping against Cole's leg. He sat up and shook himself free of freshly falling snow and howled at the moon, which of course made Cole flinch, Sky opened an eye and gave him a firm kick with a talon

"Not all of us are nocturnal, Tempus. Knock it off." Sky grumbled stretching his neck out

"Thank you!" Cole gasped as Tempus stood back up, winded by the strike; he opened his eyes and raised his ears, his large black nose taking in information. In a pounce, he leapt over Cole and jumped on Sky's back to get to the roof of the little white tent at the end of the Sheikah village.

Rosie stood up on her haunches and tore the shirt on Link's chest

_"Yes, kill the Mage, strike his heart!"_ the plague egged on, the moonlight shone off her claws as she threw her paw down on her brother's chest; instead of a beating heart being struck fur latched itself onto her claws and a body rolled into the wall of the tent.

Link was unharmed.

The wolf was dazed, whimpering as blood dripped down his front legs. He snarled

_"You! You helped destroy my host with the Mage! Kill him!"_ the plague snarled, Rosie turned on Tempus, circling the injured wolf. Tempus shook on his paws as he tried to circle Rosie, his teeth showing as a river of blood flowed out from his chest.

"Stop this!" a shout came from the tent flaps and a whip latched around Rosie's neck; Rosie roared as strong hands pulled her to the ground but she soon got back up, this time latching her claws around Aurora's throat. Aurora struggled as Rosie's claws dug into her neck but no blood came. Tempus lunged and crunched his teeth around Rosie's left leg, drawing blood and almost crunching the bones if he had not stopped himself. She dropped Aurora who gasped for breath and ran off, a trail of blood following her.

Tempus transformed and held his chest, his tunic already being stained deep red "This is going to ruin my whole day." he moaned leaning on the tent wall.

"Are you alright, otherwise?" Aurora gasped rubbing her throat as it began to bruise

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little dizzy though." Tempus mumbled gulping down some red potion from his pouch

"I'm not used to pain, Tempus." Aurora sighed wincing when she touched her throat "It must be awful what Link is going through."

"It is. He needs Pippa." Tempus grimaced as Aurora touched his side "Ezekiel went looking hours ago in Clock Town. He wants to do right by Link and Rosie."

"Blood is strange; I've never seen it from a humanesque figure before; only the animals you've hunted for me on this earth." Aurora spoke letting Tempus's blood trickle down her fingers before lapping it up

Tempus frowned "You're not a vampire, you know and it's still spilling, I can't get up; get Impa!"

The little Deku girl slept curled around Pippa, her little leafy arms cuddled around her stomach as light of a new day shone through the curtains. Pippa opened her eyes; she was sick of the cone around her neck to stop her chewing the rags around her paw; it was itchy and she had hit more walls because she could not see around the sides of the thing! It infuriated her, but at least the little plant girl was keeping her company; the plant was addressed by the two-legged as 'Viridis' or 'Viri' for short; the little plant did a lot of shouting and jumping around for well, a plant, and she could not get her head around it, not that she could get her head around much lately with that cone! Why had Master not whistled? Why had he not come out looking for her? She had not gotten many opportunities to follow his scent; which was starting to get covered by others, especially a two-legged that smelled of crinkly-rags, he talked to the strange coughing-boxes that ate crinkly-rags. Two-legged were weird.

"I know you don't like the neck cone, Pippa." a kind voice whispered as the door opened to see her scratching at the cone with her hind leg. The voice belonged to a young woman named Anju, she had fiery red hair and large blue eyes and large pointed ears that flicked when she was happy. She had a dark brown waistcoat wrapped around a long sleeve shirt and a purple skirt that stopped at her ankles to give way for some old leather boots. She stroked Pippa from inside the cone as she limped over to greet her. "We are still trying to find your master; they must be missing you very much."

As much as she did not understand the she-two-legged, the tone of her voice was level with her own thoughts. She was worried about Master and she knew or at least, hoped that he was worried about her, why had he not come looking?

"Anju, honey?" a young man poked his head around the door,

Pippa snorted in remark, it was not that she did not like the he-two-legged, it was just her neck was so itchy!

Anju stood up "Yes, dear?"

"There is a man asking if a dog was found here, goes by the name of Pippa." the he-two-legged spoke; that was her name, Master had come looking for her! She yapped at the he-two-legged and sniffed, trying to pick up Master's scent on his clothes, no, not that rock-he-two-legged! Not the one from the hot place!

The he-two-legged picked up the retreating pup and walked mini-mountains with her in his paws

"Wait! You can't take my doggy!" the plant-she-two-legged wailed at the top of the mini-mountains

"Viridis, we talked about this, Pippa is not your dog." the-he-two-legged sighed as the plant-she-two-legged bounced down the mini-mountains

"But she's my guardian! She has wings, look!"

_That's it! Time to go with the rock-he-two-legged!_

Pippa wormed out of the he-two-legged's grasp and raced around the corner to the lobby.

There sitting in a chair near a still plant, she had checked and that one did not speak, was the man that had changed to the rock-he-two-legged and handed her back to Master, only this time, he not only looked a little like Master, he smelled of him too. She was hesitant to go to him, snorting regularly as she stepped on his shadow; the he-two-legged never made a move as her little nose twitched to check who he was before sitting on her backside and letting her tongue loll over her teeth. The he-two-legged nodded and stood up

"Yes, this is my son's dog, he's not well at the moment so he couldn't come sooner. I'm sorry if she's been a bother to you, Kafei." Ezekiel spoke leaning on the counter as a purple haired man made his way to the other side

"She was no bother at all, ate well, slept well, does not like the neck cone though." Kafei laughed watching the pup hit a potted plant in her attempt to turn.

"Well, here's 200 rupees for the trouble. My son has her well trained." Ezekiel said rubbing a hand through his hair

"You can't take my doggy! Please don't take my doggy!" Viridis shrieked diving for Ezekiel's legs, Ezekiel let out a chuckle and raised an eyebrow "You can't take my guardian!"

"I'm sorry, Viridis. We told you that she did not belong to you." Kafei sighed coming around the desk "This is my adopted daughter, Viridis. She and our son, Keeton are very attached to her already, she's the perfect little pet. Your son is lucky."

"Yes…very lucky…" Ezekiel whispered crouching down to the little girl "Listen, my son needs Pippa for his health."

"I don't care! I want my doggy back!" Viridis screamed, Pippa hid behind Ezekiel.

"Pippa is his shield. They share an unbreakable bond that has saved their lives many times before and only together does this world have a chance against the plague and what is to come from it." Ezekiel spoke picking Pippa up. Viridis sniffed and stepped back, nodding solemnly

"I hope that Link is happy to have his doggy back." Viridis said wiping her face

"I-I never…said his name…" Ezekiel flinched

"I know, Pippa did." Viridis replied hopping from foot and pointing at Pippa

The adults shrugged "Come on, Pippa. Let's get you to your master, huh?"

"See you later, Pippa!" Viridis cheered waving a leafy hand.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I want to write a happy story, this so damn serious! Anyway, I can't get my head in gear lately, I'm doing so many things at once! My goodness, I hit 30 chapters...well, you wanted a long story.  
So, the little Deku Scrub has Pippa freaked out. Now there is very little difference to plants you talk to and ones that talk back! Tempus protected Link with his life? Why did Ezekiel not do something? He's not a serious person at all is he? Even when he's bleeding out. Rosie changed into a wolf again, oh dear. She's still got the plague.


	31. Awakening

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty One - Awakening

Ezekiel touched down in the Sheikah village, still getting the dirty, angry looks off his fellow tribesmen and women. Pippa also seemed to be nervy around the Sheikah; she kept leaning on Ezekiel's leg while she limped forward both for support and to hide the fact she was frightened; she could smell the illness on them; it still hung around.

He pulled back the tent flap to let her through to find Tempus unconscious in a nearby bed with his shirt off; Impa was holding some blood covered sheets and Rosie and the royals were nowhere in sight

"What happened?" Ezekiel shouted, Pippa dived under Link's bed

"Wolfos came and attacked Link, Tempus and Aurora managed to protect him, but Tempus was gravely wounded; he's stable now but some of his organs have been punctured. He may not last much longer." Impa sighed holding a silver locket in her hands "As for Link, there is no change in his condition; he still clings onto the sheets moaning."

They both turned their heads to see that Pippa had managed to jump on the bed and was pawing at Link's shoulder whining for him to acknowledge her. They watched as Link's hands moved from the bed sheets and clung onto his friend; she lay down next to him, thumping her tail on his legs; letting him squeeze her in his arms as he rolled onto his side, she licked him on the cheek and rested on his arm.

"Strange." Impa mumbled watching the boy clam down slowly; every time he started jolting; Pippa would lick his cheek and wag her tail to tell him not to be afraid.

"She had been found by the Stock Pot Inn owners a few days ago, they have a Deku Scrub daughter who said that Pippa told her about Link." Ezekiel mentioned rubbing his hands together

"I imagine that it's the same way Pippa tells Link information." Impa muttered walking past

"No, I'm pretty sure there is something else." Ezekiel whispered following behind, Impa dropped the locket but Ezekiel reached down and picked it up, clicking it open before she had a chance to stop him "This looks like…Malon. Why does he have a picture of Malon and why is he _kissing_ her?!"

Impa rolled her eyes "That's not Malon. That's his wife, his real wife, Romani."

"How do you know? I didn't even know!" Ezekiel squeaked, Pippa raised her head

"I've known for a long time. Though he loved Malon, he grew closer to Romani. They are both keen archers."

"This is why I never ask Tempus questions! The answers are always weird!"

"He looks after Lulu's children too. Devoid of a father figure, he stepped in."

Ezekiel placed the locket on the bedside table, closing it in his fingers. "He's a man of many secrets. More than I thought, I guess."

The dawn was almost nigh and the snow was storming down on the camp, even so; an abnormal glow could be seen from inside the tent where Link and Tempus rested. With it, a pair of feet crossed the floor, their steps echoing towards Tempus's bed. A gentle hand ran under his chin removing some of the hair from his face before moving down the cold body his head was attached to; the hands were soft as they touched the bandages making Tempus shuffle uncomfortably. The hands cupped around the wound, shining Tempus's body a tangy orange before the wound closed up without need of stiches or staples and retreated back, the covers were pulled up.

When the sun rose, Tempus opened his eyes feeling much better than he had done in years, he found his bloody bandages on the floor in a messy heap and Link still fast asleep in his bed but he had much more colour in his cheeks and looked like his was in much less pain at a glance; though he was sure it had something to do with Pippa there. The pup looked up at him as he climbed out of bed and put his tunic top on, it was only after his hands touched his sides did he realize the wound was gone. He touched his side a few times to double check and twisted around like a dog chasing his tail; he took a glance at Pippa who had a shifty look on her face.

"Now, I know you have something to do with this." Tempus spoke narrowing his eyes and searching for the little locket to reattach around his neck, Pippa wagged her tail and turned her head to Link, his nose buried in her fur and his ear being smacked by her tail.

An eye opened.

Pippa turned around on the bed and licked his cheeks, forcing him to laugh as he was covered by a neck cone in her efforts to get close; yapping and barking with glee.

"Alright, you two, what have you been doing?" Tempus smirked as Link sat up, still half asleep, he removed Pippa's neck cone from around her head and unwound the bandages around her paw to show the bite from the dog was still raw. Pippa nuzzled into Link's side and allowed Link to hold her paw, massaging it gently with his thumbs; a few tears dropped from his eyes and landed onto her paw, healing the injury in a matter of seconds. Pippa licked his cheek and pounced onto Tempus, giving him a series of doggy kisses on the shocked face before running outside.

"Did I just see that?" Tempus gulped "Your tears…healed the wound?"

Link sighed and leaned back in the pillows watching him with half open eyes; the sun rose up behind them, showing a green mark around Link's left eye in the shape of an oval and a small tear coming out from the bottom.

Link cocked his head in confusion

"Your face…it's got a Sheikah tattoo. Look." Tempus whispered searching in his pouch for a clean bottle to reflect Link's face on

Link looked at his face through the glass; still confused.

"You were born in a fairy fountain, Link." a voice came from the doorway "You and Rosie were born in tears of the Great Fairy."

Link turned his head and gripped the blanket, Rosie rubbed her flank against his side, trying to tell him all was well. He pointed

"Yes, Link. I am your father." Ezekiel whispered "The tattoo you bear is the mark of a true Sheikah. One that comes naturally."

Link turned his gaze to his bow that lay against the table, Tempus stood in front of his line of sight, forcing him to stare at his torso

"You are still recovering." he muttered

Link scoffed and pulled the blankets off his feet. His legs were shaking as he walked a few steps forward.

The sunlight burned his eye sockets as he left, silence echoed through the village; every on looker stared at the miracle of a being that had come to them; he hated their stares wishing that they would stop as they watched him make his way to a campfire that had no people surrounding it. He stared into the flames, watching them dance before him in a fury of spins and twirls.

"Link!" Zelda cried from behind him, pouncing on his shoulders and slapping him on his cheek "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

Link smiled but continued to stare into the fire

"What's wrong?" she asked sitting next to him.

He sighed and looked in her direction; showing the glowing green tattoo that had made itself comfortable on his face, Zelda held his arm

"It doesn't change anything." she smiled, holding his shoulders "Tempus nearly got killed trying to save you from a Wolfos that got into the tent and Rosie has gone missing. Cole and Impa went looking at dawn; Sky went with them."

Link turned alert and stood up so sharp he fell over

"Link, pace yourself. If not for your sake, then for mine." Zelda sighed "I know, I know, based on how I've been acting, it's weird but…I've…I um…"

Link rolled his eyes and placed a finger on her lips. Zelda laughed and took his hand; her soft fingers touching his dirty hard working ones. Their eyes met and smiles grew on tired faces.

"I know you're worried about Rosie. But you can't go without eating." Zelda whispered linking her arm around his "I wouldn't want you to collapse somewhere."

Link let out a shallow sigh and followed her guidance towards a small tent.

Aurora floated on the air, her hair waving and flapping in a gale that could not be felt. Her hands were folded and her head was low; she missed her home in the stars, she wished she could take her other form and find her sister, she had looked for her from above but and the result on landing was the same; all trace of her had gone. Pippa walked in, her expression curious.

"At ease, Pippa." Aurora sighed straightening her legs, the pup came closer wagging her tail she sat by her, leaning against her side with a sigh

"Link is awake, why don't you follow him around like normal?" Aurora snapped, Pippa whined and thumped her tail hard on the floor. Her eyes were sad.

"What?" Aurora growled throwing her arms out "I know, alright. I know I don't have a lot of time, stop looking at me like that."

Pippa snorted and marched away to sulk. Aurora knew that she was right, though the pup was not even a year old yet, she showed knowledge beyond her years and because of her animal status, she could sense something, out of her and even her master's control and needed to warn others. Though her messages were garbled to adult ears. Perhaps Tempus could provide a bit more of a translation. Surprisingly, he acted as a canine would in that body, allowing himself to forget his Hylian side over a bellyful of meat and a back scratch, even so, it made him dare she say, smarter, he could smell bad intentions, defend and attack without a thought. She got up to find him rolling around with Pippa in the snow, barking and play biting as someone Pippa's age should be doing.

"When you are quite finished?" Aurora snapped folding her arms  
Tempus rolled his eyes and transformed back into his Hylian form with a scoff "Yes, Miss Big-And Powerful, what can I do you for?"

"No need for sarcasm. I cannot understand the warning that Pippa is giving me, can you translate?" Aurora sighed

"Losing your power are you?" Tempus giggled, Aurora snarled and seized his ear in two fingers and twisted it back. "Ow!"

"Don't make me bite your head off. I finished the remains of that rabbit you caught back with the Zora." Aurora said licking her lips.

"Alright! Let go!" Tempus whined, Pippa pounced on her, pushing the pair aside and growling at Aurora, baring her teeth at the girl. "She warns of a wet. A big wet she calls it and its coming."

"'A big wet'? What is that?"

"Canines normally refer to water when they say wet. As for the 'big wet' I imagine she means a sea or lake. Coming…a river. Perhaps a river near here is to bust it banks and flood?"

"Possibly. But why warn us of a little water?"

"Canine minds work in strange ways. Working with the thought of the others around it more than themselves."

Link scraped the sides of a bowl of soup with his spoon, gulping down helping after helping of the liquid down his throat with thick bread; it felt like he had never eaten in his life. Zelda watched him guzzle it down with her mouth half open; he ate like a dog, fast and furiously. He slowed down for a moment and placed the bowl in his crossed legs; a smile spread on his face and a twist in his neck came, Zelda shut her mouth

"You are a fast eater." she said slowly as a shadow of Sky blocked the sun from streaming through the tent fabric. Link's bowl flew out of his legs as he dashed towards the bird. Cole shook his head as he slid off. Link gritted his teeth and whistled for Pippa, she came to his side as fast as her stubby legs would let her and exchanged a glance with him.

"Link. What are you doing?" Zelda asked putting a hand on his shoulder, he turned and faced her, his eyes full of irritation, so much so she removed her hand as if he had slapped her. He clicked his fingers and rubbed his hand over his heart, the pup taking the instruction and lowered her nose to the ground.

"I'm coming with you." Ezekiel spoke coming out from behind Sky. Link nodded once, but gave him a dirty look as he did so.

"I will give you a ride on my back." Sky spoke, lowering his wings to allow Link passage, but he refused and started to follow Pippa's zigzag trail.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well, Link awoke, his tears can heal wounds? And he was born in a fairy fountain? Has this contributed to his desire to heal? And Tempus married? That was something unexpected, wasn't it? You all knew about Lulu but not her. There's not really that much to say about this chapter this time due to an arm injury.**  
**


	32. Life Fruit And Fire

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty Two - Life Fruit And Fire

Rosie awoke to the evening light, naked to the clouds above, she was sure it had not been a dream this time. Something inside her wanted to see the end of her brother, but she loved him dearly; why would she want to kill him? After all, even if her 'father' had done a disappearing act, Link never did and she was sure never would. She wondered if he would have woken up, maybe start searching the land with a magnifying glass or better yet, a nose; Pippa was a keen tracker when she put her mind to it. She touched her face and gasped, her fingers were wrinkled like they had been soaked and the skin was rolling off her arms like she had aged rapidly in the course of one night.

She _had_ aged in one night!

Without thinking she let out a cry of horror before covering her mouth, with no spores to slow the process, the years were coming faster and faster; no one knew why it made people old before taking their lives, no one had lived through this and the younger you were, the faster you aged. She attempted to stand up but her leg had a large bite mark in it that dug deep into the flesh of her leg and screamed for attention when she put weight on it, shivering she sat up as best as she could and looked for some cover within her reach; she was in some kind of swamp with clear water running in a slow moving river, did that plant just blink? The grass was fairly tall, providing decent cover for small animals that lived around here like rabbits and birds and the giant lily pads on the water meant there were frogs and animals that were amphibious in nature, that plant blinked again! She rubbed her eyes and tried to stand up, sensing that there was something behind her waiting for an attack.

"Excuse me, girly?" a voice spoke from the trees nearby, hidden by the large fruit hidden in its branches

"Who said that?!" Rosie roared making fists

"Me." the voice replied throwing a strange yellow fruit down to the floor, a white furred creature came from the branches of the tree, a monkey with a smiling orange face. He hung from his tail as he made his way down the tree with a rag in his hands "You've been sleeping there for a while now. Since about noon."

"Why didn't you try and wake me?!" Rosie snarled as the monkey edged closer to her holding the fruit in one hand and the rag in the other

"I did." he said offering the rag to cover her "But you wouldn't budge, you were really hurt and kept muttering a name."

"Do you have a master that has trained you to speak so well? I've never heard of talking animals, or at least not talking monkeys." Rosie swallowed when the monkey offered her a piece of yellow fruit.

The monkey laughed "No, I learned through the Deku Princess. I am still wild though. My name's Kiki."

"Roise."

"It's a pleasure, Rosie. Here, eat this. It will give you strength."

"What is it?"

"I'm not too sure myself. The Deku have been guarding this fruit near a stone gate with three key holes in. That's why their gardens are more protected than their homes."

"Is it safe to eat?"

"Yeah. The tree that used to grow it died a while ago but the fruit lasts for years and should only be given to the sick and injured as there isn't much around." Kiki informed "Whoa! Slow down! No more!"

"Why?" Rosie sighed as the monkey snatched it out of her hands

"This stuff is powerful and very addictive!" Kiki warned "Nature has a way of doing things, it teaches you moderation and consequence above all else. I will give you this fruit. But be careful."

Rosie nodded and held the fruit close to her chest, the bite she had taken out of the fruit began to fill out and regrow. "Where's the nearest town?"

Kiki scratched his head "Clock Town is to the north for humans, but the nearest is about a mile south."

Rosie took a glance at her leg as the dried blood of the bite began to disappear and the wounds began to heal even if it stung like salt had been rubbed into them "Thank you, Kiki."

"Are you planning to head to Stone Tower Temple with your family?" Kiki asked as Rosie pulled herself off the ground wrapping the rags around her, her skin tightening with the fruits' power to fight the illnesses wrath

"Why do you say that?" she asked cocking her head to the side

"Don't humans feel it? The trees and grasses have passed the message around faster than any animal and are digging their roots further into the soil to cling on to their places.  
Us animals are starting to move to the mountains too, as for fish, they are taking shelter with the Great Turtle." Kiki said swallowing hard

"What are you talking about?" Rosie squeaked alarmed at Kiki's words

"It's coming, Rosie! Something that will wipe all the evil and good of this earth and there is nothing we can do about it, we can feel it underfoot, the land is telling us to head upward where we will be safer." Kiki shrieked banging his fists on the ground "The plague will win!"

"What's coming?!" Rosie wailed bringing her "How will the illness win?! My brother-"

A dog broke through the bushes, half rolling, half jumping as a little flicker of flame had caught onto her tail, she spun around dizzyingly, snapping her jaws at the flame that clung on. Kicking her back legs up the flame flew off and hit the base of the tree Rosie stood next to; Pippa dug her heels into the ground and lunged at the flame, closing her jaws over it before sneezing it out

"Eww, dog drool!" Flame groaned lifting his little arms up; Pippa rubbed her nose with her paws and snarled

"Pippa? What are you doing here?!" Rosie squealed, Pippa shook her head.

"Rosie!" Ezekiel shouted as he and Link broke through the bushes

"Link!" Rosie cried dashing into Link's open arms before her father's.

Link's gaze was not on his sister; more on the flame that was trying to get up on the grass, he had seen Pippa chase and snap at it since they left Clock Town, now that he thought about it, she had done nothing but snap at Flame but never at fire, this snapping was not playful either… Link pushed Rosie away without taking his gaze off Flame and took an arrow out of his quiver; he drew his arm back and let the arrow fly the short distance through to Flame; it struck him and the tip turned purple.

"Don't touch that arrow, Link!" Ezekiel warned grasping his son's shoulder

Link glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow and his arms into a shrug

"Flame, you can see it, can't you?" Ezekiel asked "Pippa can see intentions. She saw the sorry state of the Gorons, a cloud of them were snuffing out their lives, Pippa has protected you, that's what she was sent to do."

Link looked at Pippa; she gave him the same confused expression that he did.

"Father? Do you know something about Pippa?" Rosie asked as Link turned back on Flame,

The stuck creature laughed "Some Mage you are, a real Mage would have worked out how to destroy us, but you, you're just a boy!"

Link put his hands over his ears as Flame wedged the arrow out of his shoulder, trying desperately to block him out, he could feel his blood boiling with anger; something that did not happen very often due to his silent nature, he remembered his schooling days as a very young child; the ridicule he suffered due to not being able to pick up on reading and writing well with not having a voice, nothing he could do about all the fingers pointed at him and how he was always classed as the dumb one in lessons because he could never answer a question and because he could never write his answer, he was forgotten about at the end of the classroom, often stuck with just lying on his desk wishing he had a friend. That's why Mother had pulled him out of school and got the owners of the ranch to tutor him with their son. Rosie had a much better education than him. Sometimes he wished he could yell words at the top of his voice when he got angry but instead all that came out was a few wordless screams.

"What's the matter, can't tell me to leave you alone?" Flame giggled coming in front of Link's face, Pippa snarled

_"Why can't you speak? Are you too stupid to speak?"_

"Aww, the little Mage is upset, you've done nothing but get in my way, you and that pesky pup!" Flame spoke, Ezekiel brought his hand out to Rosie and edged backwards as the tips of Link's fingers began to glow hot orange

_"Out of my way, you're always underfoot! Can't you see I'm trying to teach, Link?!"_

"You don't even know how the Plague works! How do you plan to stop it? Or has your tiny brain not worked that out yet?" Flame giggled landing on Link's shoulder

_"Just leave him alone, he can't work things out as good as the other students."_

Link shut his eyes; Pippa took a few steps back into the brambles with Rosie and Ezekiel. Little flames of red fire flickered on Link's tingling finger tips

"Just as I thought, you've got no real power." Flame smirked, Link's eyes shot open to show that his pupils and iris had disappeared and had been replaced with crystalline rubies, darker than the magma that flowed under the world; he lowered his arms and made fists, his face showing huge restraint, but his resistance was weakening

"Duck!" Ezekiel screamed pulling Rosie's head down and pulling Pippa towards him by her tail. A wall of fire taller than the trees ate through the landscape, burning Flame into mere cinders in seconds; the grass turned black under foot and the sky overhead transformed into a sunset orange; the snow melted and the icicles turned to steam along with the trees burning up and falling down around him. After the wall died down, extinguishing in the wind, Link stood there on a single patch of green grass, wheezing with anger, so much so his whole body was moving with his breath.

Pippa appeared at of the bushes and sniffed a black pile of cinders; the remains of Flame. She seemed to relax a little and come towards Link, though the look he wore was frightening, she showed no fear in standing on his feet; her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she rubbed her head against Link's leg, now almost fully grown, the top of her head now reached his hip. Link looked at her with a glare before letting out a large exhale and dropped on his knees; his red eyes fading and returning to their natural state with a few blinks. He wrapped his arms around Pippa's neck and nuzzled into her fur whining like a new-born pup, Pippa licked his cheek and lay her head on Link's shoulder breathing down the back of his neck.

She could feel Master's sadness and worry, he had no idea how to control his power yet the hot-beast-without-hot's two-legged language had made him angry and upset and he needed a paw to rely on. Pippa sighed and let Master grip her fur tightly around her sides, it was his version of a cuddle compared to her own and it was strange but Master was Master; she would protect him forever no matter what happened, canines did not understand the future very well, they had no understanding of time itself; she was all about living in the moment but the grass and the trees had been whistling messages for a few days now in their own language, animals were becoming more scarce on the ground and if she was to protect Master, she would have to get him to higher ground fast. Master was good at understanding her but because he was always sleeping, she could not tell him, she had told the he-dog that had a canine body and two-legged body but he was part two-legged, he had not learned to read the wind.

Link leaned up and stroked Pippa's head brushing her dirty fur with his nails before tutting at the amount of dirt and cast that came up in his finger nails. Pippa needed a bath as did he. He smiled and stood up, a little shaky but still awake. He clicked his tongue for Pippa to pay attention and rubbed his shoulders with the back of his hand; shaking his head as he did so. Pippa sighed and snapped her jaws in argument. Link blew through his nose in the same manner and repeated the action again this time with a little more aggressiveness; not asking her anymore, he was ordering her.

Pippa pointed her nose to the ground and sniffed the scorched grass for a bit before starting to make her way south to the sound of running water; she liked being dirty.

Dirt kept her warm.

It was a good ten minutes before they came up to a large river with several lily pads scattered around it; it was beautiful. Pippa and Link exchanged a glance and dug their heels into the ground, this was the moment where they dived in but as they stared at their reflections; did Link spot something to the left of them, something that sparked and shined in the light of the water.

Another mirror!

He turned his head back to see Ezekiel and Rosie coming towards them; his curiosity for the next piece of the puzzle was strong, he had to know why he had been chosen to be a Mage; why their father had left them and what had happened with Tempus, why had he not helped them if he had managed to get to the country without detection? Why help from a distance?

Pippa nudged him forward as if she had read his mind and jumped into the water, barking at him to follow.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Yay! I got to upload! So many hours trying!  
Anyway, that's a new power to add to his shields, he's got three now, so now what? They found a new mirror, cool, what will this one reveal? And Link's education, do you ever see anyone in school in Hyrule yet they all know how to read? I would back away to if someone was using that on me. "Dirt kept her warm." I like that phrase. The Life Fruit? Where has that been seen or more to the point what was it used for?


	33. Family Circles

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty Three - Family Circles

Rosie held Link's sleeve in her fingers, so lightly he almost did not feel them; her eyes were sad and grief stricken, something that seized Link's attention instantly. He twisted his head and raised a low eyebrow, his eyes growing big and concerned.

"Link, Father says we can stay with him." she whispered "We don't have to be what the law of nature tells us to be and we don't have to use our power to defend the earth."

Link blew through his nose and lifted his shoulders, looking at the grass for a few moments before glancing back at his sister shaking his head.

"I want you to be happy, Link. You're always doing things for us, please." Rosie begged taking his hand; Pippa climbed back onto the bank and shook herself dry and sat facing the water in silence for a while, her head unmoving and her eyes unblinking.

_Not yet._

Link walked past her, his hand stroking his chin as he passed by. Rosie took a few steps back as if he had said something; his actions were more than clear.

"Link! No! You can't!" Rosie screamed grabbing his sleeves and shaking his arms

Link looked at her face and sighed, keeping his eyes small

"Don't be a fool! You can't stop the illness by yourself! Kiki said so! The world is doomed, Link. Accept it, no amount of pain and sacrifice will satisfy its hunger!" Rosie shouted, tears streaming down her face

Link pushed her away gently, a few crystal tears dropped down his cheeks before he dashed off into the water, diving under with barely a splash with Pippa following behind.

Rosie sunk to her knees "Father, what will become of him?"

"I don't know, we'll send for Sky to pick him up later, perhaps he could talk sense into him. We have to flee." Ezekiel whispered

"Flee from what? Why are all the animals afraid? Why has Link driven himself to this?" Rosie cried into Ezekiel's chest

"I'm not sure; I'll have to speak with Tempus. But Link is turning into a very powerful young man; even Pippa is getting hesitant now because she wants to flee. It won't be long till she will, with or without Link." Ezekiel spoke chewing his lip "I am unsure who is controlling who now."

"What do you mean?"

"Link has no voice because a luxury had to be sacrificed for the sake of a necessity. In other words, his voice was replaced with something else, like I told you."

"You mean, there is another consciousness within him?!"

Ezekiel sighed looking over the trees "Whenever Link goes to a Time Mirror, he sees a younger version of himself; that younger version is a disguise for what is actually replacing his voice. I don't know what the true form of the replacement is, but it has allowed you and Link to live for years beyond the laws of nature. I'm worried that it's allowing Link to show his power more."

Link surfaced from under the water in a canopy of shady leaves, he could see the mirror inches away from the water's edge; somewhat damaged by branches breaking through the thin walls and large leaves and weeds growing around it, making water marks on the glass.  
Pippa clambered up onto a lily pad that was near the mirror; her weight made it shudder and water ran over the edges as Link hauled himself up to be greeted with a worried child version of himself; they were no longer wearing the little blue pyjamas but a white shirt that was tanned a little brown with dirt and mud; with it, he wore a pair of dark red shorts and sandals. He seemed concerned for him; pressing his little hands against the glass; he mouthed a few silent words and his hands slipped through the glass without so much as a crack. Link took the child's hand and pulled as if trying to release him from his prison but the body wouldn't pass through, he just received a squeaky sound of the child's body against the glass itself, almost like he was solid himself. Perhaps he was.  
Link rolled his eyes with annoyed acceptance and knelt down allowing himself to breathe and watch the images that followed:

_The sound of running water could be heard, it was the only thing he could really hear other than the sound of a woman screaming in the background. The image itself was blurry with a few hard, crusty flecks around his eyes, being the only thing he could actually focus on; he could feel fabric against his skin, warming him up slightly._

_"Hey there, little man." a voice cooed "Welcome to Hyrule."_

_He turned his head slightly in the direction of the voice, though he could not understand what was being said fully, he just looked at a smiling face and short to long blond hair with the brightest of blue eyes._

_"Thanks again, Tempus, for coming to help." another voice whispered from nearby over the sound of a scream_

_"It's fine. A lovely baby boy. Congratulations, he has your eyes and his mother's smile." Tempus replied crossing his legs and removing his hat to act as a blanket. "Why so upset?! You've got a healthy baby boy!"_

_"And-and girl too…" Ezekiel whimpered as a baby started to cry in his hands, Malon leaned back, her chest fighting to move._

_"See! Nothing to be upset about! Two healthy children, more than some!" Tempus complained splashing some water into the child's face. The child slapped a small locket that was inches away from his face, Tempus brought it inside his tunic_

_"You forget what I told you Tempus!" Ezekiel snarled handing him the little girl to dress_

_"I'm not good with wriggling children." Tempus smirked trying to put the little girl's arm in the sleeve as gently as he could, she screamed and cried as she fought against his  
gentle grip. "Jus-Just let me get your arm in!"_

_The little boy now lying in Tempus's legs opened a small red eye and glanced around at what was going on before staring at the exhausted woman before him, turning his head to the side slightly as if trying to figure something out._

_"Ezekiel, it hurts." Malon whispered leaning back further. Ezekiel jumped up and leaned over her, rubbing her sweating head_

_"It's alright, I'm here." Ezekiel whispered "Stay with me."_

_Tempus held up the children together and stood up, his ears flicking as did theirs. "Impa! You came!"_

_"Of course I came! The world is moving, can't you sense it?" Impa whispered taking the girl "And I wanted to meet my niece or nephew."_

_"Both." Tempus spoke, holding the boy carefully on his front, "No names yet though."_

_"How beautiful! I thought one of these were yours, Tempus!" Impa smiled rubbing noses with the girl_

_"Mine are a little older." Tempus smirked giving a subtle wink_

_The boy blinked hard for a moment, his red eyes brightening and changing in colour till they were almost pink. Tempus's ears flicked again as a little pink fairy flew past; their wings humming with the speed they flew at_

_"I thought the fairies had long gone from this place." Tempus shrugged as another flew by followed by two more; stopping briefly by the boy before heading towards his mother, almost like they had taken an instruction from him._

_"So, what about names; Ezekiel?" Impa asked turning her attention away from the fairies that were starting to crowd the room._

_"I want to call the girl, Rosie." Malon piped up as a fairy touched her skin, Ezekiel smiled, squinting at the back of his son's head._

_"Yes…Rosie is a lovely name." he muttered "What about the boy?"_

_"Why not you take Tempus's name here? He helped you get here didn't he?" Impa spoke nudging Tempus with her elbow_

_Tempus laughed "I don't think he would want my name!"_

_"Maybe not your name now…your birth name. It means 'great hero'." Impa sighed rolling her eyes,_

_Tempus glanced down at the little boy who had his eyes crossed as a fairy landed on his nose, covering his face with her wings_

_"I'd like that." Malon wheezed "And I want you to be their god-parent."_

_"What?!" Ezekiel and Tempus shouted together "You can't be serious!"_

_"I am." Malon spoke glancing in Tempus's direction with stern eyes "I want you to watch over them as we will."_

_"But there are many Link's in this world and in Termina too. Why name him after me?" Tempus asked as Link yawned to cover the fact his eyes were pink still_

_"Because he will be a great hero someday." Impa mumbled handing over Rosie to Malon._

_"Tempus and I can keep the Sheikah away for only so long. Be careful as you leave on Epona."_

_A few stones clicked at the entrance way, making everyone silent._

_"Ezekiel, don't hate me for this." Tempus hissed slipping Baby-Link into his hat and holding it to his chest_

_"What?!" Malon wailed "Take him out of there!"_

_"You better give me Rosie." Impa hissed opening her arms_

_"Ezekiel, why do they want to take them?" Malon cried, a fairy landed on her face_

_Ezekiel held her hand tightly "They are nearby. We have to run."_

_Malon reluctantly sat up and kissed her children on their foreheads. Tempus untied his belt that kept his sword at an angle and stuffed Baby-Link and hat in the space before tightening it up again, he would need both hands if he was going to fend off Sheikah._

_Impa took Rosie, holding her in a proper blanket they had brought and held her close, so the back of her head was leaning on her shoulder._

_"Take care." Impa muttered throwing a Deku nut on the ground and disappearing in the explosion that half dazed Tempus and the others. Tempus took one look at Baby-Link in his hat before turning to Malon, who was in floods of tears._

_"Don't worry. It's for safety that we separate you all a while. Impa took care of Queen Zelda, she knows children and I've been-that's not important, we'll find you. I'll take somewhere that Sheikah can't even travel to, as for Impa, I don't know. You take Epona and get to safety."_

_Malon waved a hand as Tempus rushed out with Link in his arms and whipping out his ocarina._

_"You better hang onto something, kid." with one hand he played some notes till a pair of white wings broke through his tunic and circled in on them, while in the other, he held the baby tight to his chest "Your mother needs you, so you better last the night."  
Baby-Link raised an eyebrow and almost gave a nod before hanging onto the fabric of the hat and Tempus's fingers as they spun around in a fury of feathers._

_Moments later, they were in a dimly lit place that was filled with trees and the echoes of birds, not to mention piles of scattered feathers lining the roots of the trees. Hidden within them, was a huge stone door with two statues on either side holding the hinges, their eyes seemed to move as Tempus approached. The one on the left was a giant stone man with a huge sword that looked like it came in two halves, his body was covered in thick amour that stood out with many astronomical signs upon it, his face covered in tattoos that brightened with colour as Tempus touched the door with a single hand, to the right, was a stone dog that towered over them with a thick tail but not bushy while the head was held high and mighty, awaiting instruction from their master, not to mention the stone wings that came from the side of the dog; lifted up as if they were to take off at any moment._

_"I have a child that is in need of protection. Please mighty ones, allow me through." Tempus begged the stone heads seemed to move and the sounds of the birds quietened "I know it's in the rules, but please. He may be able to help us; children cannot contaminate the Life Tree and its fruit."_

_"This child can. What you have in your hands is no ordinary child but half of a pair that shall one day come back to this place. You must watch him from afar, Tempus, for he must never be influenced by you or yours. When he comes of age, we will send a guardian from the heavens in the body of loyalty and kindness to teach and protect him so that no evil can enter within." a booming voice informed "He is many years away from that but has already shown the power within. Keep him in here for three days and nights near the Life Tree and till the fourth egg in the nest hatches and await his return."_

_Tempus bowed and walked in through the opening doors. Into an even shadier place, said shade being the remains of a temple built by men that nature had took over, once being the resting place for the Master Sword itself before it was removed in time before him and had been replaced with an orchard of Life Trees, all been planted by one man during his lifetime. Now an immortal hero that lived out his days between the land and sky. Tempus had a lot of waiting to do before he got that gift._

_He sat down at the roots of one of the Life Trees and opened up his hat, Baby-Link had a beaming smile on his face even though a child of his age should not be making such a face. The little birds flocked around them, enjoying their company, even the tree they sat by leaned over, squeezing some fruit in its branches to offer the boy to drink the life within it, but no more than a few sips._

Link was nearly dozing off when the image cracked and the little boy vanished in his sight again. The tree that gives yellow fruit huh? Did Rosie not have one when he found her or was it his imagination? But did Tempus know his powers just like he did? Then why was he not doing all the saving? He would have to ask Tempus to lead him to this place he was brought to and did he bring the fairies to the fountain? Was that the power they spoke off or did they mean something bigger? He unfolded his hands to find a cherry in his hands, one of the smallest fruits in the world.

Pippa took a step back, _Soon, Master. We have to go soon._

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well, that was long. So, as you probably remember, Link and Rosie were born in a fairy fountain, but as many of you also know, a Great Fairy lives in that fountain not little ones but little ones now live in it and have healed Link already in the story, (read back a little if you need to; go for about 9 or 10) So, has the fairy's tears brought this untold power that Link can now control or is it something more? Did he save his mother's life or did someone else save his? What is Ezekiel talking about to Malon? Did he know about his power? And Impa? She's related to them? Very good. And Tempus? Now you know why he's so protective over them, but who were the statues and the Life Fruit trees doing there? Why did the statues warn Tempus?


	34. Ties To Each Other

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty Four - Ties To Each Other

Cole and Zelda had waited anxiously for Link and Ezekiel's return with Rosie, but it was only she and Ezekiel that walked up the path towards them, Rosie looking much better, but they never said anything, they could tell she was grumpy, Zelda had learned to keep her mouth shut when she was grumpy, if she could shoot venom it would come with the sting of an angry word. Zelda took a step forward but stopped herself from going further as Rosie halted before them.

"He won't listen." Rosie sniffed without looking at them "He thinks he can heal the world."

"But, he hasn't-" Zelda spoke

"I'm his sister, Zelda. I've known him longer than you have and I know when he's made up his mind!" Rosie snapped "He's going to hurt himself healing people, I know it; even Pippa seems to be getting nervous."

"About that," Tempus butted in, appearing beside them, Cole nearly jumped out of his tunic "She's not nervous of Link at all. She's nervous about what the land is telling her and wants to get Link to safety."

"What's the land telling her?" Cole asked holding Zelda's shoulders

"Well, because I'm only half a canine, it's harder for me to work out, but she's given me enough clues to make me think that a flood is coming."

"A flood? How big?" Cole asked stepping up to Tempus

"Big enough for all the animals in the area to head to the Stone Tower Temple and more are going in; that place is the highest and the lowest point in any known land and is filled to the teeth with evil, nothing grows there even after I took care of it as a child. My point is, that most of the animals are heading up any way they can and it's advisable that we make a start going there too."

"But we can't leave without Link, even if he managed to stay alive in the sea, how long do we have?" Zelda squealed, making Tempus's ears lift

"I don't know." Tempus mumbled fiddling with his hands "You shout like your mother did, she didn't respond well to the word no when we first met."

Nightfall came, the thought of the animals fleeing was starting to affect the group more and more, unease hung around them like a bad smell and the dark was only making it worse. Zelda fell into an uneasy sleep in her hammock, swinging lightly in the breeze coming through the tent walls but Cole remained awake; thoughts flying through his head faster than he could debate on. Eventually, when the moon rose, he ventured out, his feet barely making a sound on the snowy ground

"You should not be out at this hour." Aurora's voice mumbled from behind him. He froze up, without Pippa at his heels, her words felt more dangerous.

"I was looking for you, I know you never sleep." Cole replied without turning

"What do you wish to see me about?" Aurora asked folding her arms, Cole swallowed hard

"Tempus said all the animals are fleeing to the Stone Tower Temple because of a flood." Cole began "Do you know when it's coming? I'm worried."

"I've known it to be coming for a very long time and it will come without warning. No rain, no wind, nothing, it'll just come." Aurora sighed holding her shoulders and lowering her head

Cole spluttered "Isn't there anything we can do?!"

"I'm afraid not." Aurora mumbled walking up to him "The future is not easy to read, I'm limited in this form, but there is one thing that is always consistent when I look."

"What?"

"Link is not with us."

"What are you shouting at?" Zelda yawned coming out of the tent in her night clothes

"Nothing, Zelda. Nothing at all." Cole whispered giving Aurora a nod. Aurora leaned against a post of a little tent, looking at the crisp clear moon; she got homesick at night; what had started on a mission to get Link to learn his power but instead she saw something else in his personality like something had reached in and taken what good he had. Ever since he cleared part of the illness in this little town, something had happened to him; he seemed to be oblivious to reason beyond his own choices, his desire to help was hurting him and the others were starting to catch wind, she could feel the worry float around them like it were something that could be reached out and snatched.

She tightened her grip around her whip on her hip as she heard footsteps and the sound of a soggy young man walk by in the dark, led only by his purple eyes. She threw her whip out; he did not turn but halted in his tracks and allowed the whip to catch on his leather arm guard for his bow; he glanced over in her direction and gave the whip a tug to loosen it around his arm

"We need to talk." Aurora muttered reeling it back in, Cole and Zelda went back to their tent

Link cocked his head and offered a hand as if he was ready to listen.

Aurora came close to him and fiddled with her fingers "Are you aware that you are a mortal god?"

Link sniggered for a moment and raised an eyebrow

"I'm serious; you and Rosie are mortal gods, you were given power to make you a Mage beyond human comprehension in return for the loss of your voice, the one thing that would keep you honest and true, not to mention brave. You would have to be for what you do."  
Aurora sighed tapping a foot

Link lowered his head and sniffed, covering his hands with his face

"Link, you need to open the Grove and soon." Aurora whispered putting her hands on his face to raise it, she felt the salt of his tears on her fingers "I know there is so much you want to say and so much that needs to be said in your words but I am a deity myself, I know how much pressure there is on you."

Link turned sharply and swiped the air with his hand.

"I DO understand! I may not have big powers like you, but I carry a lot of weight on my shoulders!" Aurora snarled throwing her whip out to catch his arm again;

Link hissed as it stung his arm but just held his hand, Pippa snarled at his feet but a sharp click of his tongue made her retreat

"What is wrong, Link? You are getting more irritable every day and I want you to vent. There's only so much a pup can do." Aurora spoke reeling her whip back in

Link snorted through his nose as Pippa pawed his leg, asking permission to snarl. He debated her request and he shook his head, twisting it so it as if he were acting sarcastically.

"Mortals are infuriating sometimes, acting cruel and greedy, before your powers were discovered, you were someone different to who you are now." Aurora said gently "You are a kind soul and you need to vent or that anger is going to get you in more trouble than burning down a portion of a forest."

Link turned away and made his way back out of the village, he would sleep rough tonight if he had to. He was not going to deal with this.

"Link, listen to me!" Aurora shouted in a voice that hurt to hear but he had already disappeared into the night.

Aurora rolled her eyes, what a stubborn man, Rosie had been right, when he made a decision, nothing would stop him, he was angry, she could feel it and if he was trying to heal with that anger and rage, then it would impact on his ability, she had heard the events in the forest, the damage he had done, Din's Fire was very dangerous in raged hands. His power was getting to much for him and had done since his hibernation; he had turned distant.

Link washed his face in the river after walking who knows how long or far, he did not feel tired at all. The moon was high in the star lit sky and there was not a cloud to cover them, he looked at his reflection in the water, a dirty grumpy face looked back at him, purple eyes blinking. He knew he was irritable but he just needed to calm down a little on his own, he had Pippa, she would always be there to listen and provide comfort, she always knew when the right time was, no mortal or immortal would be able to understand the connection they had, she was literally Man's Best Friend and he could not wish for another. She had grown since they had left Hyrule, both in body and spirit, she was a proud female with both civil manners and for the ones that got on her nerves, well, they would know about it. He slapped his reflection with the flat of his hand and buried his head in raised knees, he had no idea what he was meant to do, they were all talking about this Grove and he had been there as a child with Tempus; but there was something about the statues at the side of the gates that seemed to be bothering him, one was a seven foot man and the other was a canine with wings, Link gave Pippa a suspicious look, nah, do not even think about it, Pippa was his guardian, but in the same breath, was she the guardian that they sent him when he came of age? NO, STOP IT!

Link let out a whimper; Pippa jumped straight over and leaned against his side, putting a paw on his knee with an urgent yap, asking what was wrong. Link wrapped his arms around her and cried into her fur for no apparent reason other than he was just so confused, angry and muddled that crying was all he could do.

"Link? Are you okay?" a voice whispered as a hand touched his knee; Link lifted his head up and let a few sobs escape, Zelda stood there in her tunic and boots, a smile on her red cheeks and kindness filling her eyes

Link lowered his head and continued to sob, how did she even get here?

"Hey, it's okay. I know." Zelda whispered sitting down next to him and bringing his head to lie on her shoulder. "You've been really brave for everyone and I understand how annoyed and confused you are, I get confused by what they're telling you."

Link sighed out loud, though Zelda was not the best comfort and did not understand everything about the outside world and its rules; he knew she was just trying to help, just like the last time.

"How about another ice skating lesson? I brought my skates." Zelda cheered

Link shook his head; he did not feel like doing anything.

Zelda narrowed her eyes and gave him a really creepy smile that made him shudder, he realized Pippa had moved towards his feet and was so close to taking his boots off. He folded his legs and arms and gave Zelda a 'no means no' glance. Not like it worked, she pounced on him, sitting on his stomach while Pippa pulled off his shoes and handed them over to her so she could pull the blades out from underneath, being careful not to cut herself. She looked past the boot at his face, his eyebrows raised somewhere in between annoyance and giggle fit.

"Have you been eating?" Zelda asked, blushing as Pippa handed her the other boot  
Link rolled his eyes and gave a firm nod; he had been hunting on the sly with Pippa, who had seemed to have found friendship with Zelda at some point…or in layman's terms, she had been giving her treats.

"Great, you should have enough energy to push me off then before I get your skates back on your feet." Zelda said, grinning as she wheeled around to slip his boots back on his feet.

Link struggled to push her off and kick as much as possible but he did not want to catch her in the face and she was sitting right on his torso and could not reach her back, he folded his arms in defeat till she got up

"There. You didn't put up much of a fight, did you? I expected more." Zelda giggled picking up her skates and swapping them for her boots. Link sat up and glanced around, in a cloth on the rock that she was tying her skates on was an arrow with a strange glow, a blue glow to be exact. She held it up so he could see and staggered towards the water's edge, tapping the slow moving river to freeze on contact.

"Well?" she asked holding her hand out as she wobbled.

Link gave her a gentle smile, one that was rare now and stepped onto the ice, Pippa came to the edge and sat down, cocking her head to the side before lying down full stretch to watch.

"Okay, so how do I do this again?" she asked,

Link skated backwards holding her hips while she held his shoulders, a little unsure at first, but then her confidence made her grip a little less numbing on his shoulders.  
It happened without warning, Zelda let go of his shoulders and came to his side as they made a turn to go down river, Link held his hand out as she was still a little wobbly on her own but that was all the help she needed, very soon, she was skating at high speeds next to him, not as fast as his top speed, but she was happy skating on her own before halting suddenly and turning to him.

"You know, the last time we were like this; we were attacked by Sheikah." Zelda whispered "I don't think it'll happen twice in a row."

Link raised an eyebrow as she came closer to him, holding onto his shoulders lightly, her hands reaching up to his neck and cheeks. Link held her by the waist to keep her balance correct while the other hand weaved through her hair

Zelda let out a light chuckle "For a silent guy, you can have the longest conversations."

Link twisted his head unsure what she was talking about, Pippa yapped at him nearby opening her eyes wide as if to give him a hint. Zelda turned her head for a split second to look at her, Link smiled and waited for her to look back at him before bringing his head down and his lips onto hers; their balance perfect on the ice as she brought her arms around his shoulders and his hands to the back of her head.

All the stress from his shoulders evaporated into nothing and all the love that Zelda could give to him filled him up, renewing his temper.

"I love you." Zelda whispered coming in for a hug and to hear the sound of his soft heartbeat.

Link kissed her on the head in her hair as if to say the same.

Upon this action, a yellow light sparkled in between their bodies, pushing them back slightly from each other as golden and white feathers emerged from within it followed by a thick stick and yellow stone for a tip. Link snatched it in his hands before it fell to the floor, his face visible in the light it gave.

"The Light Arrows." Zelda spoke through her hands "A gift from the royal family to a hero meant to be."

Link lowered his head again as if he had been reminded of what he was here for but Zelda lifted his chin with a finger

"I'm here for you now and forever no matter what happens and what changes."

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well people, are you happy? You got your kiss between Link and Zelda and the light elemental arrow. But now comes the question, the Arrow Birds...weren't there four? What would the fourth bird give? If the legend is true that is. Link's going to heal the world? I sense a little darkness in him, this could be his downfall could it not? To focused on his tasks? What happened to him? Why is he doing this to himself? Would you do it?


	35. Deception And Infection

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty Five - Deception And Infection

It was late afternoon before they returned to the village hand in hand, everyone had been worried sick about them both but their fears were soon destroyed when Link presented them with the Light Arrow, something that housed the light of the sun within the stone it was cased around. The Sheikah folk hissed at it, keeping their distance, even Ezekiel and Impa seemed to be wary; Tempus came forward and wrapped it up in his sock hat in an effort to hide the light from the people. Link saw his saddened eyes as he stowed it away, he put his hand on his arm, his fingers holding onto a leathery guard and stared at him; nodding so slightly that Tempus almost missed it.

Tempus sighed "I need to take Link to the Grove now. We have the three keys, he can open the door."

Link lowered his head and tapped his hip for Pippa to come to his heel. Zelda took Link's hand in between him and Pippa

"I'm coming too!" she said, tightening her grip till Link's face showed pain

"So am I. I didn't come this far to miss out." Cole spoke coming out from a tent

"I am too. I'm the other half." Rosie whispered, coughing slightly and holding onto the beam of a tent, she looked sicker by the moment; though Link was sure she was doing something about it, though he was not sure what.

He marched over and pointed to a little satchel that was on her hip, cocking his head to the side as if to question her

"There's nothing in there that concerns you." Rosie snapped, but Link shook his head and dived in, only to pluck out the yellowy fruit from inside. He dropped it in fright so it rolled in the dust and shallow snow, showing several bite marks, he pointed to it again, this time not questioning her, outrage was written on his face, he knew this fruit now, why would she keep this from him? What was it doing to her?

"It's called a Life Fruit; I've had since you found me. So a few days at best." Rosie muttered reaching for it,

Link picked it up and held it out of her reach; with the other hand pressed up against her face, he did not like this, something felt odd about this fruit.

"Stop it!" Rosie shouted as he offered it for Pippa to sniff, she seemed hesitant to at first but let her little nose press against it, taking in the sweet scent before sitting down. "She'll eat it!"

Link and Pippa exchanged a glance, Link lifted the fruit out of her reach and looked at her clothes, sure she looked better if she was eating this fruit, but there was something…off…about it, he looked at her tired eyes and let out a 'hmm' making Zelda and Cole jump at the fact he had made a sound; he started to rub his chin; his eyes constantly moving around his sister before he grasped her hand gently

"Ow!" she squeaked pushing him off with a hiss "Give me the fruit!"

Link threw it away and removed his hand, allowing Rosie to dash forward and hold the fruit in her hands, he smiled, a cruel smile that meant trouble.

"What?!" Rosie growled, Link marched over and picked her up by her stomach with one arm "Put me down!"

Link snorted and set her down away from the fruit, pointing a finger at her face and rubbed his stomach

"Yes, I've been eating!" Rosie snarled trying to pass by but he stopped her, pushing her back even more.

"Link, what are you doing?" Zelda asked picking up the fruit, Link slapped it out of her hands so it rolled on the floor

"It's addictive." Cole whispered "She's been eating this, nothing else. That's why she's so thin."

Link picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, keeping a tight grip of her with one arm and his quiver and bow were slung over the other. Zelda swallowed hard, in the green garb, which was now a little dirty from all the action, stood a young man on a mission, he had been through happiness and sadness, anger and toil but he was finally ready to accept life as it was for him.

He was a Mage. A healer for the sick and wounded. He would defeat this plague even if he had to die for it and no one, no one would stand in his way.

"Everyone who's coming, let's move." Tempus ordered "Cole, Zelda. You get on Sky and fly to the Grove. We'll get a horse."

"Put me down!" Rosie screamed pulling her arms out from Link's grasp and seizing an arrow, Link glanced over and dropped her as she aimed to stab him in the back with the point. He put his arms on his hips and tapped a foot. "Give me my fruit back! I don't want to die!"

Link chewed his lip and shook his head and pushed Rosie against a beam, stopping her escape with his arms, Rosie in all honesty, was terrified, her brother was much stronger than her and there was that glare he held when he had stolen from the shops; that glare that meant he was angry at someone. _Her._ Though he had never said a word, she could feel those purple eyes staring into her soul, scolding her for hiding and eating the fruit, and warning her that he would take action if she tried to hurt him again.

The illness was taking over her brain, fed by the addiction of the fruit, it sucked and squeezed her life force out slowly so Link would not catch on, but he hardly missed a thing. He brought some rope out of his tool pouch and tied her up tight with her hands behind her back, not breaking his gaze for even a second. Pippa was also watching, but from a distance, she had the same look as he did.

He tried again to sling her over his shoulder and mount a horse that Tempus had fetched for him during this, along with an old chestnut mare, Link's gawked in surprise, that horse was older than he was! Not to mention that horse had been around when Tempus was his age! The coat still shone and the hooves were strong and fearless, her hazel eyes held so much information and beauty. Tempus mounted onto her and stroked her silky white mane

"Your mother adored this horse. She would have loved to see you ride her." Tempus whispered holding onto the reigns

Link continued to stare open mouthed

"She's an old girl now. She was around when I was a child; but still has a lot of punch left in her." Tempus chuckled pointing to a younger buck "That's Flute, he's about four years old now, Epona's latest mark on this earth."

Link clambered onto the young buck, he had a thick white mane and a chestnut coloured coat with hints of black and white on his neck and stomach, he reared back on his hind legs, Link held onto Rosie with one arm and the reins with another, he whistled for Pippa who bounded over, narrowly avoiding the hooves of the animal crushing her, knowing now she was too big for the saddle she waited by his side.

"Don't worry, Flute has seen me transform many times, he's used to dogs running around his feet." Tempus informed pulling Epona's reins to make her walk, followed by Link.

Cole and Zelda boarded Sky, Cole holding onto a rope that had been fastened around the base of Sky's neck and Zelda clinging onto his waist

"Is it nearly over?" Zelda whispered as Sky fanned out his wings

Cole fiddled with his fingers and sighed "I don't know. It may be."

Sky turned his head "Don't despair children, I have faith in Link; as you do."

"I can't help but worry though, not just about Link, but the flood and all that." Zelda mumbled as Sky sprung into the air and into the clouds

Cole remained silent for a few moments "I know. I worry too. But we can't fight against nature, nature will always win."

"But what happens if the flood's not natural?" Zelda whined

"Why would someone want to flood the nation? Who would have that power?" Cole asked

Zelda sat upright so suddenly that Cole squeezed Sky's neck "The plague. It wants to destroy Link; it's in Rosie, close to him and it trying all it can to take her over as it can't touch Link because of a guardian and that's Pippa!"

"So Pippa's a weapon now?" Cole questioned "Although that's not surprising."

"She may be right, Cole." Sky spoke "Tempus is never ill because he has the Sight, a gift only a guardian can bestow; his guardian is Epona; I have the Sight too. Pippa has watched over Link with great care and has protected him and all of you from the plague. How it got to Rosie must have been good luck on their part."

"So is that why Link needed her so badly when he used his power?" Cole asked

"Yes. Haven't you seen them act together? They have such a powerful bond that if it were to be severed by the plague then it would kill them with broken hearts." Sky replied flapping his wings softly

"But what about our bond with him? What about mine?" Zelda whispered

"I don't know." Sky said with a sigh, vanishing into the dark clouds that rumbled with thunder.

"Sky, I don't like this." Zelda gulped holding onto Cole, Sky flapped his wings to travel higher but were greeted with the sound of hissing from behind. A fireball grazed Sky's tail making him caw and drop out of the clouds in a spiral.

Cole threw his cape off and smacked the fire as much as he could, but it was only after his saw what was following them did he drop his cape. Huge red birds only slightly smaller than Sky were flying behind them; they had archers sitting on their backs, hanging on by a long tail that was practically the size of the animal itself. The birds flew fast and spat out fire by throwing their heads back, Zelda dug a hand in her pouch and felt around in it for something that she had stolen from Link's tool bag. Arrow heads. She had sharpened them to a point and threw them back, Sky sped up his pace, flying through the thunder clouds trying to get as low as he could while Zelda threw a few badly thrown projectiles.

Tempus and Link left a cloud of dust in their wake; they travelled far down the map in almost silence, with the exception of Rosie trying to slide herself off the saddle and run off. It was only after she went completely quiet did he start to worry. His gaze was focused on the way forward and the pounding hooves of Flute but something made him pull sharp on the reins before they got to the gate of Castle Town. He swivelled around on his seat; searching for his four-legged- friend but she had gone, she could keep up with a trotting horse and would bark at him if in need for a breather, where was she?

Tempus halted Epona and turned his head "You coming?"

Link turned Flute around and clambered down, offering the sleeping Rosie to him with a concerned look on his face; he knew that Pippa sometimes wandered off with boredom but this was different, it felt worrying. He whistled a couple of times and looked around. No sign of Pippa at all. He vaulted back onto Flute and gave the reins a tug to charge back into the woodland; Tempus lay Rosie over Epona's saddle and leaned back

"Alright. Don't give me that innocent look. Where is she?" he demanded tapping a foot on her side

The old horse sighed, nothing more.

Pippa whined softly into the grass, she hated to be apart from Master but she was starting to lose herself; she took a few quick pants and lifted her head off the grass, twisting her head on her neck till it cracked. She groaned and flopped back down onto the grass, arching her shoulders and forcing herself to not yowl, she knew Master would be looking for her, she had heard him whistle, she knew his whistle from every other; his was high pitched with a single note higher than the rest before dropping down. Master was her world no matter the time, place or mission. His safety came before her own and all that were dear to him were important too. She lifted her head up and howled loudly as her fur began to grow shorter and scarce in two places. Beautiful white feathers appeared there, towering high over her head. She flapped the corners of them, bringing them over her face to look at the brilliant white they were.

"I-I can speak." she whispered standing up shakily, struggling to get her balance right.

"Amalie…Is that you?" a voice whispered, Pippa froze but turned her neck slightly. Aurora stood behind her, glowing so brightly in a form just like hers, but she was slightly taller with golden fur and a thick tail not to mention her huge dark brown wings that were folded up at her sides "Sister!"

"Leave me alone, Aurora." Pippa snarled "My name is not Amalie anymore; that went when I left the Realm of Heroes."

"But I can take you home!" Aurora shouted leaning her head on Pippa's shoulders and licked her muzzle; Pippa snarled and bit her, almost breaking her nose open.

"I will not leave Master." Pippa spoke, her voice dangerously low.

"You have been a dog for too long." Aurora snapped rubbing her nose with a paw "You've lost your mind with these mortals."

"Pah! What do you know? Master has took great care of me and I will not leave him for some new one that won't even acknowledge my existence. I will remain on this earth." Pippa roared taking a step forward

"The Mage is lost in his little world of fairy tales." Aurora hissed "He knows nothing of acknowledgement."

"My master is the first one I recall seeing before I was stuffed in that bag by a traveling merchant. Hear him whistle, he cares for me and I will protect him!"

"Pathetic fool." Aurora sniggered glaring at her, Pippa narrowed her eyes "You are more cunning than I thought, young mutt. It looks like I will have to go through you too. I can't have you protecting your Master."

Pippa watched as Aurora transformed back into her human form, to fool the eyes of mortals; her eyes turned black as holes with a tiny yellow slit in the middle. The plague had a new model. She snarled bracing herself for a loud howl that would allow Master to hone in on her location, but no matter how much she tried, she could not get the volume while trying to avoid Aurora's attacks, it was infuriating. The first time in her winged form in months and she was hopeless, perhaps she had been a mutt to long. There was a difference between this illness and herself in mortal skin, it had cursed her, Sky and Tempus into their animal shapes, though Sky and Tempus were used to theirs; they had lived with it for decades, learning to trust their instincts and work together despite their mannerisms and species just as she had with Master. The plague was a strange one, growing ever stronger for each soul it wiped off the earth and in the body of a deity, well, how Aurora got infected for a being without blood was beyond her; she was pure light unlike she…hang on…

Pippa dived behind a tree as Aurora's blade got caught in the trunk and pushed her back, leaving a glowing blade there.

"You brought the plague!" Pippa accused trying to pull the blade out with her teeth

"This deity had nothing to do with the plague; she's just the fortunate being that got in the way of Rosie. I thought it was a step up from that being." Aurora snarled drawing her whip,

Pippa swallowed hard and took a step back. "Then how did she get infected?"

"So, you are as stupid as your master, then." Aurora sighed rolling her eyes and throwing the whip out, it broke the skin on Pippa's front leg. She winced at it as blood drew from her skin

"This." Pippa yelled licking the wound "This is what you want!"

Aurora licked her lips slightly and her eyes blinked a couple of times

"You want blood of innocent and weak so you can become the most powerful being. You love the sight of it pouring down out of a wound because it's easy to get in. Go on. Get in the wound. Infect me." Pippa spoke, showing the blood running down her paw, Aurora made a single step, her eyes locked onto the wound itself. "You can't have Master's blood! Though it may shine red, if you take one drop of it onto your form, it will destroy you! I will destroy you!"

Aurora lifted a finger, the end of it was glowing a purple flame, Pippa tried to remain strong, though she was so very afraid.

"You underestimate me." Aurora spoke, turning her head and flashing a cruel smile that made Pippa shudder "Link is on his way right now. He will see Aurora, not me."

Pippa began to panic "He couldn't hear my howls! He's not coming!"

"Oh, but he can hear mine." Aurora chuckled roaring over the trees in the same pitch Pippa did. A whistle replied, sounding worried and very close, but something else was close, footsteps, they came so fast. Aurora let out a chuckle as Rosie appeared through the brambles, her eyes black holes and her stomach full from the Life Fruit, her skin so pale that she looked almost dead. Pippa whined out loud.

More rustling came and Link burst through the bushes to find Aurora leaning over Rosie's slumped body, Pippa dashed into cover, Master had enough in his dish than to see her with feathers.

"Link! Quick! I found Rosie here, she's unconscious!" Aurora shouted, turning to show her eyes were the normal colour they always were, Link nodded and rushed to Rosie's side, feeling for her pulse on her wrist.

Aurora stood up "Is she alright?" she asked pulling a dagger out from a small sheath on her hip, Link leaned forward, pulling Rosie onto her side, Pippa tapped her paws and scratched the bark of her hiding place as Aurora held up the dagger. She barked an alert call making him turn around and seize Aurora's hands in his before the dagger touched his skin.

His mouth was moving in complete outrage, his face hot with anger and concern as he threw her off and darted back. Aurora stepped over Rosie without a single care. Link tried to draw his bow but she held him against a tree, the point of the dagger touching his heart but not piercing the skin. Rosie sat up and pushed herself on her shaking arms

"Stop wriggling, I owe you the mercy of a quick death." Aurora muttered drawing the  
dagger back, Rosie jumped onto Aurora's back, covering her eyes with her hands

"Don't touch my brother!" she shouted wrapping her legs around her waist

"I've had enough of you petty humans." Aurora growled, Pippa shut her eyes and collapsed on the floor "You don't understand power."

She threw Rosie off into the trees as Pippa showed her wingless form once more; she came in front of Rosie on all four paws and arched her back, Link came to her side

"One big happy family, yes?" Aurora giggled throwing the dagger up in one hand till it floated on its own, point aimed at Link "Goodbye, Link. Mage of this earth."

The dagger flew.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

You've hit the jackpot this time readers, extra long chapter and a cliffhanger. Well, it seems that Aurora has been infected by the plague too, which is strange because she's missing something to be infected isn't she? Plus she's a very good fighter, how could it have got her? Also, that Life Fruit, Kiki warned her, didn't he? Now Link has to deal with sobering her up, not that he hasn't got other things to worry about. So Pippa is from the Realm of Heroes and has been who Aurora has been looking for all this time; I see a very different pair of siblings here, don't you? So where's the other sibling she was looking for? There has been no trace of them...or has there? Also, the dagger...who will it hit?


	36. Et Nolite Timere

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty Six - Et Nolite Timere

One shove.

One single movement and the dagger had gone all the way up to the hilt in a body.

Crimson began to stain through their clothes and across the floor.

"L-Link?" Rosie whispered touching the hilt of the dagger with a tip of her finger. Link screamed and looked away from her but Aurora had vanished; he brought his hands to his cheeks, shaking his head as fast as his neck would let him, tears ran down his fingers, no, no, please no! Not Rosie! Not her! Please!

Rosie turned her head to Link and moved an arm onto his leg, making him reach down to bring her freezing hands to his cheeks, showering them with tears, wishing them to heal, but nothing came, no fairies, no healing powers, he was completely drained. Perhaps that had been Aurora's plan, knowing she would do something like that to take his power away.

"Link…it doesn't hurt anymore." Rosie whimpered leaning back on the tree.

Link shook his head and brought her head up slightly, rubbing a hand through her hair, his shoulders shaking with every breath

"Shh, shh, it's okay. You're the one that needs to live." Rosie said smiling weakly

Link grumbled and dipped a hand in his pouch to bring out the Life Fruit; he took a chunk of it and squeezed it in his hands so a strong orange juice ran into his palm and offered it to Rosie to drink before removing his cape to cover her and the blade. He tried to put on a brave face but the tears would not stop running. He buried his head into Rosie's shoulder and hugged her neck. His eyes just showing above her shoulders; a glare was firm on his face. Pippa backed away slightly, his eyes were starting to change colour, the purple iris that shone bright as a torch was starting to pulse, turning dark blue then to red, the Sheikah red. Rosie lay in his arms, barely breathing, he would heal her, he would not let another family member die in front of him in pain and suffering!

He had had enough of this world treating him like some kind of punch bag!

No more!

"Rosie!" Tempus shouted, twirling his blade in his right hand as his left arm was broken "Come on, Rosie, this isn't funny!" All he could recall, was him turning around to find Rosie breaking herself free of her bindings, with eyes as dark as tar with the most terrifying smile he had ever seen and he remembered having nightmares from the Bottom of the Well for weeks. She had seized his arm and twisted it back so that his fore arm was in two parts instead of one; so much that it leaned back the wrong way in his skin; a compound fracture was a very bad thing to have; even when sitting around at home. After bruising his eye, she had run off. He had tried to follow but she ran so fast it was almost like she was flying over the brambles and raised roots of the trees.

He turned on his heel and tightened his grip on his sword as he heard the bushes part

"Link." Tempus breathed "Thank goodness it's you. Rosie ran off, I'm looking for her."

Link did not even blink; Tempus could see that his eyes were soaked and puffy from crying and that there was something inside the cape in his arms. Pippa was walking beside him; her head down as if in respect.

"Link?" Tempus whispered with a hint of uncertainty as an arm fell down from inside the cape, showing the pale skin of one that was dying. Tempus swallowed hard as he moved past out of the undergrowth to where Flute was, chewing on some plant leaves.

Link gently placed her at the front of the saddle and vaulted on, looking emotionless with his dark red eyes ones that even Tempus shuddered at.

"What happened?" he asked touching Link's foot

Link turned his head away and shut his eyes, pulling the cape away slightly to show Tempus the dagger sticking out of Rosie's chest. He let out a quiet sob and drew the cape back over before giving the reins a tug, Tempus breathed in sharp and jogged forward to keep up with Flute's light pace

"You can save her life, Link." Tempus spoke "You are a Mage. You'll find a way!"

Link halted Flute so suddenly that he reared back on his hind legs. His gaze was focussed on the sky and the black clouds above

"What? What is it?" Tempus asked catching his breath back

Link kept his head up, as Sky broke through the clouds, swooping and diving whist being chased by the creatures and balls of flame that followed behind him. Link sighed angrily and removed his bow from his shoulders and slipped an arrow into it, he was sick of having to constantly do damage control around here. Tempus and Sky, even his father were capable warriors and fighters; why was it always up to him?!

His eyes glowed ever hotter and redder the more he concentrated his aim before letting the arrow fly into the nearest enemy, striking it hard and smack on target so that it fell from its domain in the sky to the ground in a cloud of dust. He growled and gave Flute a kick to make him move forward; again shooting an arrow into the air to land another creature, his aim precise and careful.  
Sky glanced down as an arrow flew past him, barely missing his wing to strike a creature above

"Oh, he's not happy." Sky mumbled as the creature fell to the ground "He's really not happy."

"How can you tell?" Cole asked swallowing hard as they got lower

"Look at his eyes, they are blazing red." Sky squeaked touching down on the ground. Link stopped Flute in his tracks and stared forward, flapping his arms like they were wings in complete outrage. Zelda slid off Sky's back and came forward to the horse; Sky was right, his eyes were blood red and filled with anger and annoyance, it did not take her long to guess why he was so irritable.

"We tried, but couldn't attack them without landing." Zelda whispered taking his leg, hoping that he was not going to kick her in the face. He turned his head away and sighed, before offering her an arm to pull her up onto Flute.

"They sky is no longer safe." Cole spoke as Tempus whistled for his stead "Where is the Grove?"

"Clock Town Tower; we'll have to use a lot of force to pull the tower doors open and travel fast. I don't think Rosie can hold on much longer." Tempus muttered helping Cole up

"I can run with you." Sky said rolling his eyes and spreading his wings out a full stretch.

Zelda hugged Link's back and laid her head on his shoulders; she could feel the irritation and anxiety coming off in waves around him, but decided not to say anything; she glanced over at Rosie huddled up in his cape next to his chest, her skin so pale it was like paper and her closed eyes were black and blue, her lips were pale, almost as white as her face, she put a hand on Rosie's and held it tightly, she knew that Rosie hated her guts sometimes, but she was still her friend and Link needed her support.

Link carried her into Castle Town with Tempus leading the way, Sky landed on top of a giant clock and turned his head sideways to watch Cole try and make a path through the townspeople for them, Link had remained quiet, his feet not making a sound on the stone underneath almost like he was floating instead of walking; he kept sighing but did not bring his cold sister closer to him than she was already, he kept her covered from the outside world, he did not want people to fear the actions that had led to her brutal injury, but blood was going to be spilt. Aurora's blood. He did not care how high of a deity she was or what he was, she tried to kill him and instead, Rosie got hurt. Rosie was all he really had; Father was someone new that he could not fully trust just yet, the man barely understood him sometimes unlike Rosie.

Tempus pointed to a large wooden door at the bottom of the clock itself "Almost there." he whispered putting a hand on Link's shoulder, Link nodded and stared forward as Sky landed from the top of the tower making the people around dart back, all of them marvelling at the giant beast that had landed before them. He fanned out his wings and shook himself so the fur on his back stood up on end; he clawed the door a few times to take a few layers of paint off before jetting back into the air the tips of his feathers glowing red and blue before turning bright yellow as he came back around, his beak focussed on the door itself as he spun, tucking his wings in with a squawk.

SMASH!

Link looked back up to find the door had been almost destroyed by the impact of such a giant creature hitting it at such a speed but there was no sign of Sky inside.

"I think I broke my nose!" a shout came, Tempus gave a noticeable sigh of relief that called Link into question; he knew the pair of them were good friends. He was not the serious guy told in the stories he was a strange man, he would admit, but he was trustworthy and often worried about the sake of others; though he hid it remarkably well.

"You would have going through a door as thick as that!" Tempus giggled lifting an arm up to shield himself from the falling dust "I thought Loftwings were tough birds back in your day."

Zelda rolled her eyes and marched ahead of Tempus to look inside the gears of the clock that kept the entire town in check, it was run on a slow moving current that passed down below, making all the hands of the clock move on thin bars of metal when a gear brushed against it; the place was damp and covered in moss, everywhere from the floor to the walls was teaming with little forests of the stuff; Cole put his hand on a railing and followed behind her, taking in the constant, _tick tock_ the hands made, even over the sound of a gentle lullaby that seemed to make everyone settle inside, yet each person knew that no song could even begin to help Link with his fears. They walked slowly so not to slip till they reached a thick door where Sky had come to a halt holding his nose in a green garbed human form. His nose was clearly bent in more than one place that made the group cringe.

"We'll get that sorted." Cole mumbled through his wince, he turned to Link but the bloke was staring at the door ahead of them, in it were three keyholes, each one with a symbol chiselled above it. The one on the right had a flame above it, one on the left had an ice cube and finally the one in the middle had a sun above it. Pippa gave the door a sniff and sat down at Link's feet, giving him a bark to make his move.

"I'll take Rosie." Tempus offered, but Link refused, taking a step back, since Aurora he did not trust anyone near her, any of them could be infected.

Tempus saw his fear "Its okay. I'm not infected." he pinched the little sack of leaves hanging from Link's belt and chewed two, his face scrunching up as he did so.

Link relaxed a little when his tongue came back red and handed Rosie over to him carefully so not to jar his broken arm. He stabbed the three arrows needed into their holes without haste and stepped back to hear a loud click of each arrow turn the locks of the door. It came apart; stones and moss fell away at their feet giving way to a tunnel that echoed with the sound of nothing.

Zelda was the one to break the silence by walking forward into the damp and dark. "How far does it go?"

"Not very." Tempus replied moving Rosie around in his arm slightly. Link reached into his quiver and brought up a broken arrow without a point and dipped it in some tree blood that he had collected a while back in Hyrule and lit it by striking it up the dry wall.

He started to walk forward Pippa at his side in ushered silence, his footsteps barely echoing as he started to walk up the wall to the scream of Zelda, Link did not notice and continued to move forward. Tempus followed, just as Link before him, went up the wall towards the ceiling yet gravity had no effect on them.

When all had travelled through, they came upon a dimly lit place full of water that you could not see to the bottom of. There were trees and shrubs clinging onto the little islands that were within the water but what was the most bizarre was that there was a great dead tree growing in the very centre of the room, even though there were bigger trees around hardly any light could get through to the canopy they made, the tree clung onto each one as if it were afraid of the water surrounding it. Link stood tall staring at the dead wood around him. This was not the place the mirror had shown him, where were the statues, were was the grass? Rosie groaned in Tempus's arm opening her eyes slightly

"L-Link…" she whispered letting her hand drop out of the cape and claw the air, he came to her side, Pippa jumped in the water and swam out. Link looked like he was going to burst into tears again

"Can you hear it?" she whispered, her eyes moving slowly across the ceiling. Link flicked his ears a few times but heard nothing other than the frantic splashing of Pippa's paws. He turned back to the tree and gazed at its dead branches trying to work out what to do.  
Rosie began to struggle, quite different to someone without a dagger through their chest; Zelda came round and pulled the fabric of the cape down, Rosie's pupils was growing bigger with a bright golden light that was unnatural, the light spinning in her iris's like it were a snake. Zelda gasped and stepped back, almost crashing into Link, who remained stationary staring at the tree.

"Link, do something!" she hissed holding his wrist but he did not react. Cole came forward with Sky and flinched.

Link's eyes were the same colour.

"Et nolite timere." Link spoke, his voice sounding like a combination of voices, both young and old. He took a few steps forward to the edge, the roots of the dead tree lifting out of the water to allow him to cross over.

Zelda collapsed. Link had spoke.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

No, no, I didn't nearly forget to put this up today, you're just imagining things.

Well guys, a dramatic opening to the Grove wouldn't you say? Did you think Rosie would be the one to get the dagger? Do you think she would remember attacking Tempus? Will she make it? Do you think Link will get his revenge? _Speaking_ of Link, pun totally intended, HE SPOKE! **He spoke!** I think I would hit the floor if I heard someone who had never speak before in their life talk to me and what did he say?  
I actually had a friend who had mutisum for about 3 years, when he started talking again I was so happy but then he completely blamed me for it and distanced himself from me after everything I had done for him!  
Ahem, personal rant over, the Grove is now open, what's going to happen now? Ooh! Till next chapter folks! Is this classed as a cliffhanger or not? I don't know.


	37. The Life Tree's Realm

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty Seven - The Life Tree's Realm 

Cole was finding it hard not to collapse himself. The man had just spoke and in another language no less! Now the roots of a seemingly dead tree were allowing him to walk across the bottomless pit of water. Tempus kept a firm grip on Rosie as she tried to struggle out of his arm, the dagger getting dangerously close to going further into her chest. Sky was sitting at the water's edge just watching Link advance on the tree, his unblinking eyes behind the broken mask were unmatched by any other person.

Link reached the tree and glanced down at Pippa who was scratching the base of the trunk with her claws, he crouched down and stroked her head before placing a hand on the trunk, allowing it to part and stretch till it made an arch to walk through. Any land behind it turned black and white and an unknown wind began to blow through Link's clothes and Pippa's fur.

Just like old times.

He marched through with Pippa at his heels, the green of his tunic turning as grey as stone. The tree groaned and the remaining leaves shivered in their places as the arch closed up on itself; twisting around like a spring. Rosie stopped struggling and remained still as if time had frozen around them.

"Look after yourself." Tempus whispered lowering his head and gently placing Rosie on the ground in Link's cape

Sky shuddered "Did any of you hear blades being sharpened?"

Link opened his eyes and brought himself off the ground, a girl was sitting in front of him her legs folded in an aqua coloured dress as if she had been waiting a long time. Link stood up fully and stretched his arms out, taking in his surroundings…where exactly was he? The land was covered in a light mist that stuck to every object and there were little fireflies dancing around minding their own businesses. Everything was peaceful, even the water barely made a sound as it lapped against the little land masses, but it was not water, it looked like it was gel lying on the surface, changing from a calm blue to a pastel red constantly. He dusted down his clothes to find that his movements were significant, echoing like he was in a tunnel, his footsteps were the same as he tapped his feet. His clothes were paler, almost turquoise in colour with little balls of light clinging on to the fabric as well as floating around; he looked around, his eyes gleaming off the circle he stood in, a blue shield that could be seen through but was not of his making; patterns of flowers decorated it, using the centre as the middle of the drawn flower.

The girl took his arm, she was pretty but seemed very familiar, her dark brown hair that was fuzzy like fur and the blue, truth seeking eyes that he had many a deep conversation with. He smiled, showing his teeth as she lifted a finger, pushing his head a little to the left to see a still being, its arms covered by a white cape and an emotionless masked face. He pondered to himself, he had no idea where he was or what he was meant to do here, the logical thing to do was ask, right?

He made a move, stepping outside the circle but then as he raised his other foot leave the circle completely, the girl stopped him and pulled him back through.

"Master, don't! If you step outside the circle then the Guardians will awaken and hunt for you." the girl spoke, her voice light as silk

Link cocked his head; did she just call him 'Master'?

"This is a Silent Realm. A land where only souls may enter." she began "It is also a place thwart with danger and risk."

Link shrugged his shoulders; at least he knew where he was.

"You have to collect things in this realm without being caught by the Guardians. If they hit you; you will have to start the trial again. Problem is, I don't see things that need to be collected." she spoke scratching her head just above her ears.

Link pointed a finger out, there was a longbow sitting in a circle across from the Guardians, it was sitting in a little stand in a similar circle to the one they stood in; it was a beautiful piece of polished wood with tangy orange centre with a yellow band going up the middle that extended up to the ends of the bow, however, as much as his he tried he could not pick out the string. He would have to get a closer look.

The girl saw his glance "The Myth of the Great Birds. Four eggs were settled in a nest in these lands, each egg that hatched gave a gift of an arrow, but the forth gave the strongest gift. The nest lies in the room beyond the tree but to get it you must earn your right to take said gift."

Link glanced forward briefly, giving the girl a funny look before stepping out of the circle, his eyes shut and his ears ignorant of the sharpening blades and pounding footsteps. Nothing was happening, why was his shield not working?! He opened an eye and screamed; blades swiped just in front of his face, nearly cutting off his sideburns, the girl pulled him back in, the pair of them toppling over into the centre of the circle, the world outside returned to its safe state. Link panted, his heart thumping against his chest, that creature had moved so quickly.

"Your shields won't work here, this place is outside reality." the girl sighed pushing Link off.

Link snorted, that information would have been more helpful before.

He glanced at the bow again and tapped his foot, thinking up a way to grab it, but as soon as stepped out of the circle, they would come after him. He glanced at the girl with a smile.

"If you think I'm leaving this place, you've got another thing coming." she complained arching her back

Link rubbed his temples but silently pleaded, his eyes growing big and begging.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Fine, you go left and I'll go right, but you leave after me."

Link nodded and patted her head, the girl nearly seized his hand, did he know who she was?

He got himself into a stance, ready for her instruction. She left the circle, the swarms of sword wielding creatures started to give chase, following her echoing footsteps with haste and speed unrivalled. Link ran in the other direction causing a few of the mobs to notice and change direction, even so, he had enough time to get into the safety of the circle before something came near him. he took the bow off the pedestal and screeched, the entire reality they were in grew colourless and faded, only him and the girl remaining in their colours, time had frozen.

He dropped to one knee, one hand clasped around the bow while the other one pulled at the cloth around his heart, every beat was like a nail going through. Vines started to grow around his fingers, clinging onto his skin like a trunk of a tree, he could feel them climb up his arm and wrap around his chest. A string made out of hair thin lines started to form at the ends of the bow and cascade down till they made a little knot in the middle, joining up as one.

Link wheezed, a chest guard and finger guard had appeared on his body made out of woven vines; the pain subsided as a large white flower came from his chest showing a long vine with fifteen arrowhead shaped petals. He looked at the flower curiously as it hummed in his hands; he plucked one of the petals out of curiosity and gasped as an arrow formed in his open palm, the tip turquoise and the feathers white and soft to the touch. He gave a cruel smile and stepped out of safety. Bowstring pulled back he aimed carefully, managing his breathing, he let the arrow fly into the back of a running Guardian; it stopped moving for a few seconds before roaring at him, raising his complex blade above his head and taking a swing, Link dodged back, the blade missing him by inches. The girl ran past him, seizing his collar as she went by and pulled him back into a safe zone.

"Shooting Guardians won't work. They are invincible and have hard hitting weaponry." the girl panted, fast by human standards "But you need to do something here."

Link held up the bow and scanned it from top to bottom. He only had fourteen arrows left what was he meant to do with them? He sighed lifting his knees up with a defeated sigh.

"Master?" the girl asked edging closer "I don't know everything."

Link twisted his head and put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed a hand through her hair _I know you are trying, Pippa._ he mouthed

She nearly did a backflip. Master was a lot smarter than she thought even for a human. She gritted her teeth and looked around, putting her hands on Link's head as if she was leaning on him, he did not move.

"Look!" she cried pointing out; he glanced over, not able to move his head. There. Above a frozen Guardian was a target on a pair of tiny, almost unnoticeable angel wings, it was small and not in range even by his standards, meaning he would have to leave the circle and shoot it pretty fast. He swallowed hard, another target catching his eye in the branches of a high tree to the left of the one the Guardian was holding, more were appearing in sight some harder to see than others, by his count, there were fifteen but he only had fourteen arrows.

Cole held Rosie's hand as she slept. Her energy was decreasing to worrying levels to the point where Tempus and Sky were starting to glance as the decaying Life Fruit that was floating in the water.

"Don't you have a fairy that could heal her wounds?" Zelda pleaded cupping her hands,

Tempus shook his head but remained hopeful. "I know where there is a fairy fountain; we might be able to find some."

"Let's go then!" Zelda squealed pulling at his tunic

"I thought you hated Rosie's guts." Tempus joked taking out a little woodwind instrument out of his pouch

"Well, one of us has to lower the blade from the other's neck." Zelda sighed as Tempus grabbed her arm and pulled her into his chest as a pair of huge wings broke through his clothes and wrapped around them both

"Hold on tight." he whispered as they started to spin dizzyingly and vanish in a cloud of stray white feathers appearing a few moments later at an owl statue in town. Zelda dropped on the floor unable to stand up.

"You…said to hold on…tight…ugh." she mumbled flopping on the floor with a moan.

Tempus rolled his eyes and pulled one of her arms over his shoulders and onto his back and dug deep into his pouch till he found a very worn out hood of a pair of a yellow ears that bounced in his hand. It was like a fancy hairband but with magic powers. He slipped it on his head through the crop of blond hair and flinched.

"How old do you think I am?" he asked, avoiding slapping the princess with his cap

"I-I don't know…37?"

"42 actually. Same age as your mother." he said smiling, his pace replicating a slow jog,

Zelda huffed as his pace got faster till he was almost a blur as they headed into a tunnel in the northern part of Clock Town; he came to such a sudden stop that she nearly went over his shoulders, little pink fairies danced around them.

"Grab one!" Zelda squeaked sliding off his back and searching for a bottle in her pouch

"Tempus, why are you here?!" cried a voice followed by shrieking laughter that made Zelda withdraw a dagger. A orange haired lady twice the height of them dressed in nothing but ivy leaves and knee-height dark boots appeared out of thin air, only accompanied by the sound of running water in the pool beneath her.

"We only came to get a fairy." Tempus replied as Zelda zoomed around after the pink lights, a few settled on Tempus's broken arm

"I don't mean it like that Tempus, I mean, why are you still down here? You should be in Ikana Canyon now. The world is trembling as the plague consumes the very grass under our feet!" the Great Fairy shouted waving her arms around

Zelda screeched to a halt splashing the front of Tempus's tunic so it looked like he had wet himself, Tempus hardly noticed.

"The Earth Mage is in spiritual growth in the Grove right now. We will leave when he returns." Tempus replied his expression serious.

"_'Earth Mage'_?" Zelda whispered to herself turning her back

"You better leave soon, for the Moon Mage's sake. You don't have long, most of Clock Town has already moved off." the Great Fairy whispered sighing slightly

"How long do we have?" Tempus asked beckoning Zelda over

"Three days. You must hurry. The souls are gathering and this place will soon be underwater." the Great Fairy warned vanishing as Zelda seized a fairy. "Good luck."

Link knelt on one knee, trying to block out the sounds of blades and pounding footsteps coming in his direction as he took aim, the string touching the skin of his cheek. The arrow flew, breaking through the target, giving him just a moment to see a sword halt right above him and the world return to a state of calm despite the absence of his body within the circle. He gasped for a moment and looked at the sunflower itself that acted like his quiver, the petals were white with yellow tips, hang on…one of the tips was starting to discolour turning crimson as blood and creasing up like it was dying before floating gently to the floor.

This place was _timed?!_

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

The Silent Realms of Skyward Sword were terrifying, I remember being caught so many times while collecting the last tear in those. My niece loves me doing them because I get flustered. I loathe the Eldin one, but I look on the bright side, I've never seen a Guardian look so confused each time I missed the jump around lava. Question time; Who is that girl? Pretty easy question, but what would you do in Link's situation? 15 targets, 14 arrows, how would you get them all? It would take a lot of effort to block out all the noise and fear from those Guardian's while trying to aim, wouldn't it? And what about what the fairy and Tempus spoke of? The Earth and Moon Mages? Is there something he's not telling? And also, the fairy says the land will be underwater soon? What does that remind you of?


	38. The Final Mirror

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty Eight - The Final Mirror

Another target smashed to smithereens and the flower grew back its petals within a second, even so the cycle started once more, the petals peeling off like old wallpaper. He glanced around for his next target, one hanging high in the branches of a tree and crouched down, pulling the sting of the bow back to his cheek. Suddenly his foot began to feel damp, the petals of the flower died off instantly and the turquoise pallet the area had been coated in had changed to red, along with the blank non blinking eyes of the Guardians, each one raising the heads and seeking out his scent. He glanced down, the tide over the islands had caught up with him, washing over the land and bitten at his foot, he understood this water; he was a foreign object in an untouched world that had no real business in it and needed to be exterminated. He tried to move forward, the water physically clinging onto him trying to keep him in his place as he tried to jump to another island but the water pulled on his leg to bring him further in. He heard the grinding of blades as a Guardian flew effortlessly through a huge tree; its disjointed arms held two swords longer than his legs and a white cape that showed no body underneath. He pulled harder, his foot starting to come out of his boot at this point till suddenly a blade scarred his skin, knocking him out of the gooey yellow-red water and onto an island, he tried to get up, his arms shaking under his weight but fell forward onto his stomach and vanished into nothing but a few twinkling lights.

He reappeared a few moments later back in the safety of the circle with Pippa.

She remained quiet as he gathered his bearings and inspected the absent chunk out of his shoulder.

"The land may be dangerous. But is forgiving beyond compare." she said when Link had pulled a thread out of his tunic

He glanced at her and looked at the flower leaning over his belt, there were fifteen arrowheads now and all fifteen targets were back. He nodded to Pippa and stood up gripping the bow hard before braving the outside. Pippa followed by his side before branching off to take the Guardian's off his scent while he aimed.

The satisfying smash of a target caused the land to calm again.

Now, onto the next one.

Zelda uncorked the fairy and let the pink ball hover around Rosie's cold body. It rested on the hilt of the dagger, the weight of the tiny creature able to make the dagger shudder. It flew up to Tempus and landed on his ear, whispering into it. He nodded.

"We have to pull it out, she can't help her otherwise. If we had other fairies, it would have been fine." Tempus sighed shaking his head, Zelda went as white as a sheet.

"I'm afraid we have to." Cole spoke seeing her face. "I'll help as much as I can."

Zelda walked away from the group as they decided who would pull the dagger out. She did not want to be a part of that decision. She cupped her hands on her chest and bowed her head, her ears listening to the trickling sound of the water at her feet.

"Link, please. If you can hear me come back to us." she whispered, turning her gaze to the dead tree she had last seen him walk through. But no movement from inside the bark happened.

"Link would not let Rosie die. We should have more faith in him." Sky mumbled noticing Zelda's position.

Bells, the final warning before peace in this place ended. His arm was shaky as the string was getting harder and harder to pull back as he aimed for the final target. He had wondered if he was out of practice but he trained frequently with Pippa so it could not be it, sometimes bows tensed up when they had new strings but it was working fine before. He lowered the bow and stared at the hanging target that had taken some hunting down, eventually finding it hidden in the decaying fruit that hung above the circle. Hidden in plain sight, how he had missed it he was unsure, everything was the same colour, he could hardly tell the difference between his tunic and the nearest patch of green leaves. He raised his arm again and tried to pull the string back but could not; it was like it had stuck. Pippa ventured out of the circle upon seeing him struggle and put a hand on his shoulder as he sat in the grass, his folded legs facing her,

She squealed "Your shoes! The knife blades!"

Link gave her a look somewhere between terrified and amazed but fiddled with the blades on his shoes and walked to the tree, Pippa waited below as he swung up the branches like a monkey and withdrew his last arrow when he got close to the swinging target. He brought his arm back and stuck the target so it smashed, spraying what appeared to be glass into his face forcing him to lose his balance and drop on the floor. The flower was renewed and the light from within the circle grew suggesting they return quickly and safely.

They walked together slowly, taking one final look of their surroundings and vanished together once entering.

They reappeared in a forestry looking area with huge trees that had feathers instead of leaves and nests instead of trunks, Link touched one of the trees to feel the texture, it was like they had been weaved by little sparrows and black birds over countless years. A gentle breeze blew a path through the shed feathers like they were snow towards a mirror enshrined within a huge frame and piles of feathers that were taller than them. He began to proceed towards the mirror but a shadow blocked the light from above him, he turned his head to see a branch groaning under the weight of a giant feathered creature, about the size of Sky in his Loftwing form. These must be true Loftwings.

The creature had a thick spoon like beak with a red arrow pointing between the eyes which were as yellow as the sun. The wings were crimson with brown tips but there was fur running along its back, stopping at a feathery tail, the tip of it glowing alight with a deep orange flame. The bird bowed, bringing its great wings in front of it. Pippa remained still but showed her teeth, growling, now back in her canine form.

"I am the Great Fire Bird. A Lofting with the abilities of Fire." it spoke, his voice deep and low like the humming of a blacksmith's furnace. "I welcome you to the Hall of Birds."

Link nodded and bowed, his hat falling off his head as he did so.

"You have done well, young one. Our Lord and Master would be proud." he continued "You have my power in the stone tipped arrows you carry. Please, go further. Claim your prize."

Link nodded once more and started to walk towards the mirror.

"Earth Mage." a voice as sharp as crystal called, another branch groaned on the other side of the tree as an aqua coloured bird the same size and build as the Great Fire Bird pruned sharp wings that looked like they could slice branches with hardly a flick, the branch below its thick white talons was frozen solid ice. "It is an honour and a privilege to finally meet you in person." the tail of the bird glowed with light blue fire as it swung it. "I am the Great Ice Bird. A Loftwing with power over Ice."

Pippa yapped at Link and lifted a paw to where another bird, again, the same size and build, was sitting, but this one was perched between the piles of huge feathers and had yellow fur that was puffed up past the golden sun wings it had. It breathed a sigh, a feminine one.

"Link, we are the Arrow Birds, acting as transport to the Gods and Goddesses since the dawn of time." it said opening its piercing yellow eyes "You have mastered our power within your weapon. But your father's bow will not be enough to destroy the Plague of the Dead. It grows stronger the more souls it takes."

The other two birds dropped from the trees and opened their wings to push Link forward slightly, their wings started to disintegrate upon touching the boy. Their colours heading towards his quiver, decorating it a beautiful purple.

"We will leave this place with you." the bird sighed shaking its feathers and fur to leave the nest. "My arrows were born with the very fabric of life. Something that can never die. I am the Great Light Bird. A Loftwing born of love and kindness."  
Link held his heart. Zelda.

"The powers of the Grove are yours to take. When you have what you require, the last bird's gift, you will leave through the doors behind you." the Great Light Bird instructed touching Link with the tips of her wings.

The symbol of the Triforce shone on his quiver.

He turned, now alone in the feather filled place to find a pair of huge stone doors behind him, appearing out of nowhere, but he could not see the stone people from the vision beforehand, perhaps they were on the other side.

He made his way in the other direction towards the mirror. Pippa kept her distance so Link could not see her reflection as he almost ran up to the glass, this was it, this was the last mirror, he had souvenirs from the last mirrors that had been smashed before him and his younger self each one giving him a gift, a spring flower, a summer leaf, an autumn fruit but what now?

His younger self appeared within the mirror in the same blue pyjama's that he had always worn but it looked like he had been crying for some reason, his eyes were puffy and red and he was holding a little blanket tightly in one hand. The other held out offering this time for Link to take it instead of snatching it. Link was unsure about the change in demeanour but lowered himself into a crouch and took the child's hand and waited for yet another vision to begin

_The flickering candle of the Kakariko Village home welcomed him, except there were windows shining bright stars in not dusty boards. Baby-Rosie built up a small tower with some wooden blocks wearing pale almost white feet-ee pyjamas while Baby-Link was wearing the blue ones his gaze fixed out of the window into the night._

_"I wonder where your father is." Malon sighed looking out of the window where Baby-Link was standing by on his chair. "I'm starting to get a little worried."_

_Baby-Link gripped her sleeve and lifted his arms up wanting to be carried. Malon rolled her eyes and lifted her son off the chair and balanced him on her hip_

_"You're getting to be a big boy, you know." she giggled rubbing noses with him. Baby-Link turned his head away and his ears flicked pointing to the stars above as one crossed the sky. Malon looked up with him for a few moments; unaware that her young son's eyes had turned ivy green._

_A flash of neon green light caused the door to swing on its hinge a few moments later, baby-Link screwed his eyes shut. Malon flinched as a male dressed in a tanned shirt and black trousers with a little cloth cap to match threw himself in the doorway, panting a little._

_"Ezekiel! Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" Malon squeaked putting Link back on the seat, he seemed somewhat dazed but greeted his father with a welcome smile_

_Ezekiel was holding his arm, the sleeve stained crimson; he turned away so Baby-Link could not see and removed his hand to show a throwing star had imbedded itself in his forearm, the flesh hugging the metal. Malon shrieked and picked Rosie up, who was more content on chewing her sleeve while Baby-Link seemed much more interested in what was going on, his eyes now shining red like his father's._

_"They found us again." he grimaced as Malon picked Baby-Link up and slotted him under her arm like a cucco. "I managed to get away somehow." he sighed giving a suspicious glance in Baby-Link's direction. Baby-Link smirked._

_"Wherever you run to we will follow, Ezekiel." Malon whispered, Rosie let out a whimper._

_"A life on the run? That's not a life I would be comfortable living." Ezekiel mumbled pulling the throwing star out with a grimace "I don't want our children living it either."_

_"No! You can't leave us! I'll get Tempus to help!" Malon shouted putting the children in a cot near the fire._

_Ezekiel glanced at her for a moment then lowered his head cradling his bleeding arm "You know Tempus isn't allowed near them. The Grove told him so."_

_"He understands everything and knows when to break the rules!" Malon sniffed "But that still means you can't leave!"_

_"Malon, I don't want to. But they will kill you and the children if I stay." Ezekiel said sadly holding Malon's shoulders. "You will have to act as if I'm dead, so will they."_

_"Ezekiel..." Malon said cupping her mouth, her voice quivering with the tears that waterfalled down her cheeks. Ezekiel held a small locket around his neck in his hand and turned to the two children in the cot, picking Rosie up first who yawned in his arms as he carried her into the little bedroom with two hay bale beds in. He rubbed noses with her_

_"Rosie, I'm leaving you the Book of Mudora for when you are old enough to read it. It will help you in the future should you come looking for me." he whispered giving her a kiss on the forehead and gently lying her in her bed, pulling the quilt up to her neck with two fingers. "I'll miss you."_

_He came back for Link who was trying to clamber out of his cot to see Malon, she was facing the window, her back to the boy and her eyes filled with tears. She said nothing.  
"Link, you are a good boy, I'm leaving my bow and quiver for when you get a little older to use them. I trust you will teach yourself well and my arrows will remain true to their targets." Ezekiel spoke staring into his red eyes, the boy cocked his head giving an almost nod and yawned, but when he opened his eyes again they were blue like his mother's. Ezekiel sighed and held the baby aloft like had thrown up on him "You scare me sometimes, you know that? You have to be brave for you mother and sister, you hear me?"_

_Baby-Link smiled as Ezekiel put him down in his bed, but he refused to lie down. Instead he climbed out and stood at in the doorway of the room, watching his parents exchange a sorrow filled hug before his father headed for the door and vanished. He followed immediately stopping at the swinging door._

_"Link, come on, it's time for bed." Malon sighed unable to speak loudly for crying,_

_Baby-Link held her hand and nodded._

_So be it._

"You were always so accepting, Link." came a voice from the mirror, Link nearly jumped a mile in fright as he came out of the visionary state and into consciousness again. He was no longer holding hands with a child version of himself; he was holding a jet black coloured paw. "Do not fear. I mean you no harm. I am Glint."

Glint gave a bow and shook his thick coat; he was a fully grown Labrador in a seated position, his thick tail wagging behind him. Link held his stance as his gaze travelled to the huge white feathery wings that were sticking out of his sides, the tips fluttering in time with his tail.

"I have been by your side since you were born. I am the one who has kept you silent all these years." Glint admitted "But for you and your sister to survive, I had to do it. You understand?"

Link gave a firm nod but raised an eyebrow as he looked in Pippa's direction.

"I'm sorry about what you saw, truly." Glint sighed flapping his wings "You were very young and to powerful. I had to calm you down; taking little bits of your power each day till you could not use it anymore and forgot about it."

Link lowered his head

"The magic you have is inside you and you have awakened it once more." Glint spoke, the mirror cracking "Continue to watch over him, Pippa. Just as I have."

The mirror smashed pushing Link over onto his back into Pippa's face. She nudged his arm, whining a little. Link smiled and stroked her behind the ears.

Whatever Pippa was, guardian sent down or coincidence they should meet, she was still his best friend.

He opened his hand and smiled, the final gift, a snow flake of winter.

It flew up out of his hand, the other three gifts floating up and joining it creating two objects before him; one for him…the other for Rosie.

He beamed and held his arms up to receive them.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I swear the weeks are getting faster, it feels like yesterday when I last uploaded. So, that answers a few questions? Ezekiel left in quite a hurry didn't he? And he knew about Link's power...didn't he? He had always known. Also, that answers another question from chapters back doesn't it? How did Link and Rosie hide their red eyes? It was magic. Link's magic. Malon trusted Tempus, I wonder if she called on him at all after Ezekiel left. Not much of a goodbye was it? Although, the hello wasn't much better, what did Link do when Malon's back was turned? He's a smart baby. Two more questions, actually no, three, Glint, he knows Pippa and he's the one that's made Link silent...does that mean that Link can talk? Why does Glint take a form of child Link and why does Pippa keep away from the mirror?


	39. The New Life Tree

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Thirty Nine - The New Life Tree

It was almost nightfall. Cole could see Tempus growing ever more anxious the longer they waited for Link to return through the tree and yet, he thought the man would be better at time keeping if his stories were true. Sky had gone to sleep with the fairy cracking his broken nose back into its rightful place; he would rather not be awake while the echoing sounds of his bones made everyone cringe.

Zelda remained standing, staring at the tree without saying a word, Cole remained as a pillow for Rosie; but he was dropping off himself, finding it harder and harder to remain awake.

Zelda suddenly let out a squeal as a few buds started growing around a branch near them opening out into buds and then beautiful pink flowers each one slightly bigger than a finger nail. The flowers started to work their way inward circling around on vines around the smaller twigs and branches towards the bigger ones, making the tree creak and groan as flakes of dead bark started to fly off into the water below making it even darker as the flowers ate at it, the branches shrunk, unwinding themselves around the other trees and escaped further into the trunk as it grew smaller. Zelda shrieked and made a dive for the water before Tempus could pull her back, the water was so murky that you could not see the falling branches and debris crashing into it as she swum to the middle island.

Cole was the next one to shriek as Rosie stood up on her own, her eyes switching from pale purple to blood red, she was shaking as she played an invisible harp with her hands as if to charm the tree's demise and stop her brother from returning, blood ran down her tunic as she moved her hands faster. Tempus grabbed Cole's shoulders as she rose from the ground and flew over to the decaying tree on invisible wings, her tunic blowing in an unknown wind. She lowered her arms and let her head flop forward, dropping into the water with hardly a splash and scaring Zelda stiff who was swimming underneath.

"Zelda! Get out of the water!" Tempus shouted throwing Cole into Sky's drowsy grasp and dived under the water as Zelda struggled back to the surface. He seized her hand and pulled her up to the top

"Tempus, what's going on?!" she wailed clinging onto the fabric of his tunic as he swam back to the mainland

"You'll see. This is what Mages can do." he said with a wink that almost terrified her.

"They have half the power between them. When one uses it, the other must recharge it."

"But Link used his shields before Rosie had interests in power!" Zelda snapped

Tempus smiled "That is a secret to everyone."

"Won't Rosie drown under the water?!" Cole shouted fighting against Sky

"Be still, Cole. All will be well. Didn't you hear what Link said?" Sky spoke his voice soft

"Everyone heard what Link said! I didn't understand it though!" Cole screamed as a bright light came from the place Rosie had fallen from.

"Cover your eyes!" Sky shouted turning himself and Cole around by lifting him off the ground and crouching down so Cole could not move, Tempus did the same, covering Zelda's eyes with a hand as the room filled with a brilliant white light, throwing a strong wind at their backs as they fought to stay grounded. The waves of the water crashed over their bodies and the furious splashes of the dead trees crashing into the depths were only soaking them further.

Zelda hugged Tempus's arms tighter as she heard the islands being crushed under the trees weight and be lost forever under the dark waves. The noise was deafening.

But then it suddenly stopped.

Cole gasped as he saw a few blades of grass appear out of the ground, a whole new colour to what they had been sitting on, clovers started to poke through with them, opening out to taste the air with their leaves. A few rays of moonlight seeped through the otherwise dark area only lit by the oil lamps that had been soaked out; Zelda was the first one to check behind them.

"Look!" Zelda shouted pointing towards where the silent rays were coming from, Sky and Tempus turned in their crouches to see Link floating in the air in light of the moon with Pippa in her canine form floating next to him, holding in one hand a bow made of the darkest, healthiest wood and a thin vine bow string, and in the other, a beautiful staff again made out of wood with looked like a huge walking stick with four symbols painted onto it. He twisted the staff in one hand before throwing it over to Rosie who caught it one grasp and raised it above her head as he moved around to the opposite side of the now empty landscape. He pulled the sting back without an arrow in and held his stance for a moment as an arrow formed within it, a green feathered one with three white feathers hidden within and a green stone tip on the other side. He aimed downward striking the very centre of the island and waited for a moment before smiling as a small shoot grew from the middle with a few leaves on its finger sized branches.

He raised his arms, bow still in hand and began to move clockwise around the circle, Rosie followed suit always remaining in time with her brother as they started to speed up. Rosie spun her staff around in her hands like a pro, avoiding Link's arrows that he fired towards her, creating a long line of perfectly positioned arrows in her wake, each one turning into a branch on the growing trunk of the tree and then growing on its own in a cover of beautiful pink blossoms and thick healthy vines before smashing through the canopy and giving way to a star lit sky above them.

They were a blur now, climbing ever higher as the tree grew with them, roots reaching out and exploding through the water with new saplings, the murky water being sucked in their demand for water and being replaced with beautiful clear water that they could see to the bottom of.

Sky brought a hand over his mouth, the beautiful paradise that he had planted all those years ago…it was back and healthy again…

"Are-are you crying?" Cole asked tugging at the cloth on Sky's shoulder as large orange fruit began to grow through the dark green leaves on.

"N-No, of course not." Sky sniffed rubbing his eyes

Cole patted his shoulder "It's okay, it is a beautiful sight."

"Sky, quit being emotional." Tempus shouted "Get ready to catch them two!" diving back into the water, Sky zoned back in and nodded jumping into the water in a swan dive more than Tempus's cannonball. Link and Rosie started to slow down, their clothes twisted around themselves as they came to a halt. They looked at each other with a sleepy glance, but Link still managed to bring himself to Rosie's side and lift her chin. Her face was as white as a sheet as his hands moved down to the dagger.

He muttered something under his breath and yanked it out in a smooth motion. She screamed but Link had a hold of her. He raised his bow into the air and waved it, allowing all the pink blossoms around them to open and reveal wings of healing fairies. His eyes turned a beautiful pink as he moved away from her allowing the fairies to cover every inch of her body, cleaning her clothes, washing her hair, healing her wounds of what the dagger had done as well as helping the others. His fingers lost grip of the dagger as his vision began to blur and sleep became welcoming as he fell ever so slowly into Tempus's arms.

His God-Father's arms.

"Link?! Link wake up!" Zelda cried shaking his shoulders, Link inhaled in fright, coughing a little as if he had swallowed wrong. He was dizzy and disorientated as he could see two Zelda's before him. He groaned as he felt fingers massage his head "Rosie's dying! Wake up!"

Link lifted a finger to her face and leaned over on his side throwing up on the grass and clutching his stomach. Zelda went white as a sheet as Tempus came to his side and started to rub Link's back with his fist

"Get it all out." he cooed removing Link's cap before it fell in the vomit "There we go."

"Why is he being sick?!" Zelda squealed running in a few dizzy circles

"He used a lot of energy, sometimes it's an automatic response. Both me and Sky have had this experience. Haven't you, Sky?" Tempus spoke, continuing to rub Link's back

"Oh yeah, one I remember was suffering in the heat of Eldin Volcano, I was just tired and actually kinda ill with not having a good night's sleep or decent food in a while and the heat just got to me. I spent like three days vomiting or what felt like three days." Sky shrugged offering Rosie a drink of water, but she turned her head away

"I think I first got sick when I entered Zora's Domain, the smell of fish was just so overwhelming and I was only like ten then, I had no idea what to do." Tempus replied as

Link settled back down for a few moments panting and quivering.

"Am I hearing this right?!" Zelda shrieked; both men grimaced "You, both great heroes who saved their kingdoms, were ill while doing that?! Why did no one help you?!"

Sky stood up and handed the bottle of water to Tempus "Zelda, in that part of our lives, we were nothing. Tempus had very little training for outside the Kokiri Forest and even though I was a qualified knight, no one had ever fought as hard or was pushed as far as I did in centuries." he sighed "There was no one that understood what help we needed, no matter how basic it was."

"Fatigue catches up on you and people were expecting so much. In that part of our lives, we didn't know what to do; not to mention how frightened we were nor how guilty." Tempus replied getting Link to sit up "How many fingers am I holding up?"

He groaned and held up two fingers.

"Actually it's a finger and a thumb but that'll work." he sniggered putting the bottle in Link's lap after refilling it

Zelda took a few steps back, was this what Link had often worried about? Going in on himself to the point of being dismissive of everyone around him because of fear he was not doing enough for the ungrateful idiots that bowed before him?!

"Are you alright?" Cole asked seeing her face, matched only by her small angry eyes

"Yes. Fine." she grunted stomping away.

Link came around fully, straightening up in his position before crawling over to his sister who lay on the grass wrapped up in Cole's damp cape. She was barely awake, her white hair was wispy in his fingers and her skin sagged on her forehead and around her eyes, her body was weak and still infected no matter what he did to try and save her.

But he intended to keep his promise.

He allowed his fingers to trace the veins down her arm till he reached the palm of her hand within his and pressed hard with his thumb. Grey veins showed up instead of the pure blue, it had poisoned her blood, just as Mother before her, no, he cannot cry about her passing now, not here. He swallowed his tears and rose from his seat, his gaze cemented to the branches that bared the Life Fruit, why would it be called so if it hurt more than healed?

He pointed to it and tugged at Sky's shoulder

"Life Fruit." he replied making Link sigh and point again, this time almost ripping the cloth on his shoulder

"I planted it here because it needed good soil to grow fruit for a sick dragon." Sky stammered looking at Tempus for some sort of hint

Link rolled his eyes and pushed Sky back before walking towards a low hanging branch and picking one of the pieces of fruit. Holding it in his hands for a moment he removed a dagger from his boot and stabbed it so that the dagger went in to the hilt then pulled it out to admire the sticky red juice on the dagger, the smell was potent enough to make his eyes water but the colour was the same crimson as blood. If the plague was evolving, this meant it would take anyone that it could without a second thought. He rushed back to Rosie and pressed the tip of his dagger till her blood dripped onto his hand, she did not complain but turned her head to watch.

The other's took an interest as Rosie's blood was no longer dark red, but had small flecks of what looked like dust speckled in them, Link let the blood touch him before moving away watching the flecks search for an open wound on his hand before he pressed the side of the dagger coated in the Life Fruit juices against it allowing cross contamination. The grey flecks ate at the fake blood on the knife; searching for a wound to infect but found nothing. Instead, the amount of grey flecks in the blood started to vanish and the blood started to turn darker in colour and act more like blood rather than something that was alive.

It was not the flesh of the fruit they needed!

Link clicked his fingers and withdrew a bottle from his pouch, his only one with a few flecks of mushroom spores hidden inside, not even one dose.

He pointed to Sky, shaking the bottle so he could see the shimmering gold.

"We need Mushroom Spores?" he said unsure of himself

Link gave a firm nod and threw the bottle over to him tapping his foot.

"I'll be as quick as I can." he sighed pocketing the bottle

"I'm going with you." Zelda whispered holding out three empty bottles she had found floating around in the water. Link smiled and knelt back down to Rosie pouring the very few mushroom spores into the wound from his hand with some Life Fruit juice straight from the fruit and reached for his hat to make a bandage. Rosie squealed in pain as Link pressed down. Praying with all his might he was correct.

Orange hair started to grow back on Rosie's scalp.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

A cure has been found, that is all.


	40. The Plagued And The Wolfos

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Forty - The Plagued And The Wolfos

Link and Rosie were alone now. He struggled to stay awake as his sister used his legs for a pillow, there had been many times that he had watched over Rosie as a child even if they were the same age, he often felt older than that, he had assumed it was because he had to work when Mother got sick when he was thirteen. He wished he could have known then what he knew now, maybe he could have travelled here himself and found the fruit and worked this out a long time ago. He hugged Rosie's head brushing her hair with his hands before plaiting it gently so not to pull her new hair out. He smiled even though a few sad tears were falling down his cheeks; he had nearly lost her and now was the time where he could truly rest easy for a while. He lay down on the soft grass removing Rosie's head from his knees in case he fell into a deep sleep and looked up to the faint starts above giving way to the morning hours. Pippa came up to him, her muzzle wet from drinking the water and sat down looking at his tired eyes before lying down, her paws over his stomach. He stroked her behind the ears and nuzzled into her fur, the vine finger guard from his bow disintegrated upon weaving his fingers through her fur before gradually falling asleep.

Pippa sighed. Glint was…alive. Living in Master for all that he knew, some sort of deity he was. Glint was the oldest, a proud canine with a soft spot for two-legged, knowing him, he would return to the air with Aurora. She moved away, leaving Master and his sibling in gentle slumber. What to do? She had not known of her other form in this world. Was she a canine or was she god? Regardless, she lived by canine rules, the alpha was in need of her and took great care of her. Master was Master. She scratched her ear with a foot in annoyance and took another gulp of wet, the ripples headed out to the edges of the land but then more met her from another angle. She lifted her head up slowly to see a pair of dark green eyes stare at her. No…no…how could it?! _Sniff_ the he-dog! The one that had attacked her nearer the den! She could see Master's flying-wood sticking out of its front, the blood from the wound was dry and dark against the matted coat. He raised his head and dived into the water, swimming streamlined under the clean water; its mucky coat discoloured it. She snarled and stood her ground as the beast exploded out of the water and threw a paw down on her stomach. Pippa whined, they were a good distance from Master, it could not move unless it let her go, she kicked against his stomach, her paws and nails digging into the rotting flesh as best she could but the he-dog did not even notice. Was it even alive?

It pushed her away with a flick of his wrist, his sharp claws digging into her side and drawing blood. Pippa fought to stay up and shook her head, keep going! Protect Master! She howled and broke into a run, latching onto the he-dog's back and sinking her teeth into his head and dragging her claws through the fur on his back, she was not a little defenceless thing anymore!

The he-dog flipped back to try and get her off but she held on for dear life, yet no matter how hard she crunched her jaws, no wet spilled from his neck, why?! The other he-dog-two-legged had, why could she not?! He threw her off snapping her collar as he did so and rushed towards Master, the flesh she had managed to pull at were hanging off him like rags. It was disgusting. In his haste to run, the he-dog smacked against a low hanging branch where some food hanging there had been, his paws stood in some wet from it making him hiss and snarl as it made his paws bubbly. Of course! Master made his sibling not smell like the sickness as much using that stuff!

She saw the sweet smelling food lying against Master's side, the wet from it had dried but the food was still intact. Without more thought she seized it in her jaws and took a huge bite out of it but did not swallow; she did not fully trust this after the last one. Her muzzle was covered in the wet when she lunged at the he-dog, sinking her sharp teeth into his leg and making his fur bubbly. It could not move much now, it was just snarling and taking an occasionally swipe when it could but Pippa bounded over, her wounds on her side were starting to cry out for attention as she ripped at the fur on his back, pulling shreds of fur out waiting for the he-dog to fall.

It did.

Pippa panted, watching the bubbles eat away at the he-dog. She raised her ears.

"I will have your life, Amalie." it spoke and she understood. It reached out a burning paw in an effort to reach her but she edged backwards into something. Master!

Link came down to her level and stared at the creature. What a poor, horrible life it had been for it. It had suffered greatly trying to kill him and everyone around him, so much so it was driven mad. He lowered his head. The plague was no more on his animal and it had his respect.

He tended to Pippa's wounds, tearing his shirt up to provide bandages for her side before offering her a little morsel of meat in his pouch for doing such a good job protecting them. His gentle fingers cooled the tempers of the wounds as he wrapped them up, crying a few fairy tears from pink eyes to disinfect the wounds. If he was going to be a good Mage, he would have to explain hygiene.

He withdrew a fire arrow from his quiver and placed it against the rotting flesh to burn it away, though it stunk the place out and scorched the grass brown, the body was soon no more than a grey pile of ash and memory.

"What's…what's that smell?" Rosie whispered sitting up slowly, her blurry eyes focusing at the calm around her, was this heaven? She felt no pain and she had her orange hair back, not to mention the dagger was gone. A hand touched her shoulder and rubbed it softly

"You've saved my life." she whispered as Link crouched beside her, his cheeks wet with tears to see his sister awake.

"Where are we?" she asked "Where are the others?"

Upon that question, Sky glided overhead, his wings outstretched creating a little shadow on the tree before landing quite softly with Zelda on his back.

Link jumped up, quickly hankering after what they had brought and pocketed it.

"Tempus and Cole are going to meet us at the Stone Tower Temple. I can fly you all there." Sky spoke without opening his beak as Zelda went towards Rosie, speechless that the girl could sit up on her own, let alone speak.

Link shook his head and tapped his hip for Pippa to come over before pointing at Rosie.

"He's going to run it." Rosie sighed rolling her eyes "Link, I'll be fine."

Link sliced the air with both hands and then cupped them at his cheek closing his eyes.

"I don't need rest!" Rosie snapped getting to her feet slowly and approaching her brother

Link refused to budge from his decision as he helped Zelda back onto Sky's back, he was barely out of breath.

"You best do as he says." Sky sighed scratching the earth with his claws as Link helped Rosie up.

Pippa wagged her tail, a run? They had not had one in ages!

Link waved them off, he was sure that his tears would have healed the injuries even if there was going to be a little mark afterwards but he still kept to a slow pace for her, yet she was a perfectly fit dog with running with horses and cuccos…actually, it would actually be from running away from the cuccos. He smiled and jogged forward back into the loud, gear filled room that was the clock tower. He flicked his ears, the gears were silent. How? He rushed outside and looked around; the area was completely barren of people.

He slotted an arrow in his bow, allowing the vines to grow around his body as he proceeded to where the horses were. They were gone; he knew they had a tendency to do that but this felt weird, like something was watching them.

Link gave a shrill whistle and quickened his pace through the field, Pippa kept at his heel; the bandages keeping tight around her stomach, she could sense Master's unease, she felt it too.

"So…you run." a voice came from behind them.

Link screeched to a halt and turned on his heel, Aurora, he still had a bone to pick with that woman for hurting Rosie.

"Lower your weapon." she ordered latching her whip around the wood of his weapon. Pippa backed up for a moment watching Link struggle to keep his stance as Aurora pulled on the whip.  
Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw a change happen to Pippa, she arched her back like she was stretching and then walked forward slowly as if trying to balance herself with a pair of huge wings that were strong as brick. Even without words, he saw that she was angry.

She tugged at the whip, flapping her wings hard to give more pull on it before snapping it in her teeth and spitting it out.

"I will protect Master even if I have to destroy my sister, Plague." Pippa snarled,

Link's jaw nearly dropped to his knees, was Pippa talking?!

Aurora grinded her teeth together, her eyes changing from the colour they were used to, to the devilish black and yellow that made Link shudder. Pippa came in front of Link, blocking her view of him with her wings.

"Very well." Aurora said roaring so loud Pippa lost a few feathers before dropping on all fours and rushing forward on her knees, her body gradually losing her humanesque shape under a coat of fur, by the time she got to Pippa she was a full canine, something that made Link just sit there.

He watched as the fury of fur and feathers attacked each other, the dark fur of his beloved friend and the creamy-golden fur of Aurora's were no more than two blurs. He could hear each whine as one sunk their teeth into flesh or ripped fur off in mouthfuls, though Aurora was much bigger than Pippa, it was clear that the illness had weakened her body as Pippa pinned her down, one paw on her neck forcing her head down into the snow and the other three spread out on her side to keep her balance while remaining dominant.

"I know how you infected her too." Pippa snarled bringing her growling jaws to Aurora's cheek "You sent that infected he-dog. The one that we killed over and over. It was already dead the first time we met it. I could smell the not-breath on it. It attacked her in this form, didn't it? Opened a wound and got in, didn't it?"

"You petulant brat! No wonder Master called you the runt!" Aurora barked trying to get up but a hand seized the scruff of her neck.  
Link flicked his wrist to order Pippa to stand back as he tied up Aurora's wings with a spare bowstring that was in his pouch, she bit and kicked him but all she got was a mouthful of leather and leaf thanks to his guards. He took out a small dagger and cut a wedge of Life Fruit, peeling the skin off before offering it to Aurora, his face devoid of anger.

Aurora sunk her teeth into his arm, making him grimace as it went through his leather guards and even under his vine ones underneath. He seized her jaw in his free hand and broke a piece off and stuffed it into his own mouth, trying not to swallow too much, he chewed it to a sludge and spat it out into his hand before forcing it down Aurora's throat and throwing himself off the mutt. He wiped his face as Pippa covered him with a wing as Aurora yowled and whined in pain.

"Master." Pippa began "I'm sorry for hiding this for so long. I was only a puppy and my wings were clipped when I was sent down to this land of the mortals."

Link cupped her chin, his face somewhere between sadness and reluctant acceptance.

"Though I may carry my wings from a time before ours, they are useless." Pippa sighed sitting by Link's side and cradling him within them "Clipped before I took my first flight. I enjoyed our silent bond, this just makes it weird."

Link let out a chuckle and shook his head, stroking her behind the ears just the way she liked, her leg started to thump on the ground

"Master! Master! Thank you!" Pippa squealed barking the way she did when she got excited "I'm so happy you accept me!"

Aurora lay still on the ground, her eyes blurring as she could feel the fruit's healing powers taking effect in her fur. Link came up to her and stroked her side softly, his fingers coming in contact with a wound that stretched up her stomach, she snarled but could not do much to stop him from running his finger up the black scars. He lowered his shoulders and closed his eyes, allowing a few crystal tears to bounce off them in tiny puddles, just like the fairies, he would cry at the wounds he saw and heal them with his tears. Link watched the scars for some time, they got smaller and healed up till they were a healthy pink and no more than a bad memory, Aurora had gone to sleep at this time, her form still remaining as a dog.

Link rolled his eyes and picked her up in his arms, whistling for Pippa to come to his side. She did as told, her wings gradually disappearing in sparkles and light.

It was getting close to evening before they saw Sky fly overhead; Aurora had not woken up yet and he had carried her all the way up to Ikana Canon, not very far from the Stone Tower Temple where they said they would meet. Sky landed next to them and hopped over, unable to walk in a straight line in that form

"There is uproar at the Stone Tower Temple. You best come quickly, people are gathering demanding the cure. I blame Tempus's big mouth." Sky tutted fanning out his wings, Link helped Pippa jump on Tempus's back, her language back to the familiar canine format but she seemed much more docile than just canine, Sky could see it instantly. "You look exhausted."

Link shook his head slowly and yawned, Sky's back was soft as pillows, though the trip was going to be short, a cat-nap would do him the world of good. He did not even get to witness take off.

Back at Zora river, the sky was clouded in a patchwork of grey, thunder rumbled and wind howled and the sea crashed over the shoreline, angry. Zora Hall was empty, even the waterfall had stopped flowing making the banks dry.

_We come to destroy the Mages…_ came wailing voices from the sea, haunted figures stepped onto the shoreline, their eyes black with yellow slits, their bodies completely see through. Among the tired eyed people, was an orange haired woman wearing a pink dress, her eyes darkest and black sludge falling off her like she had walked through a mud bath; she led the group up to the Hall, a wicked smile on her face.

Her motherly senses were acting up, fighting against the evil that had made her take this form but in the same breath, her thoughts were ignored and the plague continued to force the woman's feet forward.

Towards her children.

Towards the Mages.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

I've been writing like mad.  
Anyway, the cure has been found and works on both the humans and the animals, Rosie seems to be back to her old self again (I can't type tonight) And the Wolfos that continued to plague (see what I did there?) is finally down for the count. But who is this that has awakened? Who is coming?


	41. The Mage, The Queen And The Hero

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Forty One - The Mage, The Queen And The Hero

****  
"Careful, don't wake him." Sky spoke landing near a tent as steady as he could without letting Link slip off his back, Ezekiel caught him, anxious about not seeing him for a while; though he was a little confused on where the creamy coloured dog had come from. Pippa greeted him, wagging her tail as he brought Link inside a tent and laid him gently on a ready-made bed. He pulled the sheets up to Link's shoulders and brushed a hand through his thick crop of hair

"You have made me so proud, Link." he spoke "You've looked after Rosie and your mother so well for me, much better than I ever did."

Link mumbled in his sleep, an arm fell off the side of the bed onto his father's lap, palm down onto his knee. Pippa jumped onto the bed and snuggled at Link's side, watching Ezekiel with guarding eyes.

"I love you, Son." Ezekiel whispered replacing Link's hand on the bed. "You are the son everyone wants and I threw that away because of fear. Fear for your lives and mine. I should have known better. I should have known you could protect us."

Pippa nuzzled Ezekiel's shoulder with her nose and huffed.

"Yeah, you're right. I should let him sleep while he can." he said, chuckling in the same way Link did, Pippa flinched, it scared her how much Master and his alpha were alike.

Link slept through the entire evening almost till midnight when the moon was high in the sky, unusually large for this time of the month, normally being a thin crescent or not at all. The clouds were sparse, mere wisps if anything with hardly any twinkling stars nearby. Aurora opened her eyes to find herself lying on a sofa just in view of Link, Pippa watching her with small narrowed eyes her wings missing.

"You…helped me." she grimaced trying to sit up on the pillows, Pippa jumped down, her paws making barely a sound as her wings grew back

"Master's heart beats fast." she spoke sitting down "His temperature is rocketing. I'm worried."

"Fever?" Aurora asked moving around trying not to yelp

"No, preparation. Can't you feel it in your paws?" Pippa shuddered looking out of the tent flaps; they were still without even a breeze moving them. Aurora pulled herself down, limping slightly from their battle

"Something seems strange." she sighed stretching up in an attempt to change form without much luck. "Why can't I change?"

"The Life Fruit's power. It keeps you in pure form." Pippa said jumping back on the bed with Link and leaning on his arm. The wind began to hiss, making Aurora stand up straight.

"Did you feel that?" she gulped as fog started to line the room, eating at every object.

The beaches down south were overcrowded with ghosts; their eyes reflecting angrily off every object, the moon watched them from above, trying to peek through the clouds as the fog spread around from their slow moving feet. A humanesque figure came through the group, their body made of purple smoke with their features missing. It carried a poe lamp in one hand and stood forward from the ghosts, swinging the lamp back and forth while muttering words from a mouthless face. The ghosts retreated, heads looking at the pale moon as they backed up into the ocean, each of them being eaten by the waves. A thin line no thicker than a hair crossed the figure's face and opened to show rows of sharp, blood covered teeth as it held up its lamp, howling an unearthly roar out to the horizon.

"Destroy this world and make it mine!" it screamed smashing the lamp underfoot in the sand. It vanished leaving the broken poe lamp behind for the wind to blow over with sand.  
The land rumbled and the sea shifted uncomfortably as water started to bubble and rise out of nowhere, generating a huge wave that seemed to tower over the tallest building.

Aurora snapped at the fog, her eyes screwed shut as she felt the world quake under her feet. She did not want Ame-Pippa finding out he was frightened while she could be so calm while resting with Link. The boy continued to toss and turn, fighting to stay in the land of slumber till he eventually woke with a start, his fingers clinging onto the sheets till they almost ripped them. Pippa licked his arm and whined in concern. Link shook his head and threw the sheets off.

He rushed out glancing in all directions as the fog circled around his feet. Pippa came to his side, leaning on him slightly to give him what comfort she could.  
It was hard to see in the dark but Link was certain he could see something in the distance eating away at the land ahead and it was coming fast. The flood! It was coming! He paced for a few seconds, his gaze fixed on his feet as he tried to organize his confused and panicky thoughts,

_Keep calm, keep calm, we are at the highest point, the water cannot get us here. But what about the Zora? And the people in Hyrule?!_

He squeaked and spun on his heels as a gale started to blow around them. Pippa gave him one last look and grew her wings back, a process that looked painful through she tried to hide it.

"Master, I am with you. Please don't worry." Pippa mumbled leaning on his legs with a wing. Link shook his head and stepped out of the safety of Stone Tower Temple, nearly falling off the cliff-side into nothingness as the only thing allowing him to cross further down the mountain were three large blocks hovering in mid-air. Pippa seized the fabric of his leggings to get him to stop.

Link pushed her off and regained his composure; though he was still sleep deprived he could not help but worry about the people of Hyrule even after all the wrong they had caused him, perhaps he could get them here.

He slowed his breathing down by force and shut his eyes, lowering his hands by his sides before lifting them and opening his eyes so show the world how they had gone from red to light green, they shone brighter than a flame as he rose from the ground, his hands tingling with ivy coloured fire. He clapped his hands together, spinning his arms around till they returned to their sides and sent a bolt of green up into the air no bigger than a flying arrow. Pippa started to glow green, making Link smile contently.

"Master, don't send me away! Master!" Pippa yowled as she started to rise from the ground towards the camp. Link waved her off and turned his gaze in the direction of Hyrule, hopefully his beacon was high enough for the people of Hyrule to appear at the camp.  
He ran down the mountain as fast as he could into the barren lands below after that.

Pippa fought to follow him when she landed among the waking camp, but some sort of shield was stopping her from leaving, no matter how much she tried she could not break through. She had to be with Master! She had to be!

Zelda came out of a tent, an eerie green glow covering her body also; she seemed worried as she held her hands up to her chest, the bright light that was charming people towards the camp from all compass directions, the rumbling ground, the gale force winds. It frightened her. She had heard Cole and Aurora talking together, how Aurora had said in all the times she had peered into this future, Link was not with them. She could see Pippa struggling to leave through the entrance to the Stone Tower Temple, but every time, she hit something that threw her back; why would Link force her in here? It wasn't like him to abandon her to do something dangerous…he was not planning to come back was he?! He was going to face the flood alone in all its power!

"Tempus!" Zelda shouted rushing towards a dead fire surrounded by a circle of tents. She saw him curled up in his wolf form his furs keeping him warm on the calm night. He turned over and snorted. "Tempus!" Zelda screamed stamping on his tail, Tempus shrieked and transformed in an instant rubbing the base of his spine

"Zelda?! What's wrong?!...ow." he asked covering his eyes from the humming light above, already small glowing lights, humanesque in shape, were coming through the thickening clouds. "Who left the light on?"

"Now is not the time for jokes!" Zelda wailed pointing in Pippa's direction

"That certainly is strange." Tempus spoke rubbing his chin and standing up, "What's up, lass?"

"Master has gone off on his own!" Pippa replied, frantically barking at him "I can't get through and he needs me!"

"IS SHE TALKING?!" Zelda screeched almost jumping in Tempus's arms, several fires were lit up in tents.

Tempus did not even flinch, almost like he had half expected her to speak. "He won't be able to cope on his own."

"I know! I know!" Pippa whined hopping from foot to foot

"Seriously, she's talking!" Zelda shouted cupping her cheeks "DOG'S DON'T TALK!"

"Be at ease, Zelda." Tempus sighed rolling his eyes "These are strange times. Go wake Sky and Cole."

Zelda ran off in a blur, leaving Pippa chasing her tail in panic and Tempus looking calm as a fair amount of cucumbers.

He shut his eyes "I now see the reason why I was not allowed to see your Master grow up." he chuckled preforming the exact same spell Link had done only a few moments ago, however the light he produced was much smaller, dropping Pippa just outside the shield in a heap.

"Tempus. Thank you." Pippa whispered spreading her wings to help her glide down, even if she could not use them for flying, they still had some use. Tempus watched her leave, becoming no more than a spec in a matter of moments.

"Link? Did you do this?" a voice came from behind him and a hand touched his shoulder

"I will not even bow to you, Your Majesty. Let alone answer your questions." Tempus replied, snarling and brushing her hand away with almost a slap. Behind him stood the Queen of Hyrule, dressed in her nightclothes, hardly regal.

"Still the same as ever, Link." Queen Zelda sighed stepping back a little, the green light around her dimmed

"It's Tempus, actually. The name 'Link' disappeared with the respect I had for you." Tempus muttered folding his arms and turning on his heel to show his disgruntled face. "I came to you about the incurable plague that was taking chunks out of the population here and you told me to leave; claiming my wild stories were fake. When I heard you had made a deal with the Sheikah of Spirit to 'protect' your precious kingdom, well, I don't blame myself for my actions."

"Li-Tempus, I was young. I did not know of this land, I thought something had happened to you while you had been away." the queen sighed "It was useless."

"Thought a fire arrow to the castle drapes was enough to be honest." Tempus scoffed "I told you that the contract you signed with them was about as much protection as using a wood shield in Goron Mountain. But you didn't listen to me then."

"Tempus, that was then, this is now, I'm asking your advice now." the queen asked making him look her in the face

"No." Tempus spat "No, I won't. All of this could have been avoided if you had listened and you expect your 'hero' to step in and save you now? Your children have much more understanding of this than you do!"

The queen slapped him, her hand making a red mark on his cheek among the stubble. Tempus looked up at her from the floor, similarly to how he had done all those years ago...

_"You will not speak to me that way, Link! I won't have it!" the new queen Zelda snarled turning her back on him, he had just turned twenty, his tunic was worn and gone without washing, his leggings were ripped at the knees and his boots were scuffed. How could this have happened to her hero?_

_The Hero of Time rose from the floor rubbing his bruising cheek "Your Majesty. I speak the truth." he sighed, grimacing at his cheek "There is a terrible illness sweeping through Termina, it's taking people, young, old, rich or poor and you as queen have a responsibility to her people to come up with some sort of help. You have some of the best doctors in this castle!"_

_"Link, you have been on many adventures, exhausted yourself beyond need, threatened your life due to forgetting about hunger and thirst. Look at yourself! You kneel before a queen like that?!"_

_"I don't wear this face often, Your Majesty. And as a friend I ask you to be more civil." the Hero of Time snapped "I have never asked anything of you, even as a child. I implore you to believe me now."_

_"I have heard about the illness and have spoken to the Sheikah of that land on the matter. They are willing to make a barrier around Hyrule and stop the illness coming." the queen muttered leaning on the arm of her throne._

_"When did you become so low, Your Majesty? What happened to your wisdom and good nature?" the Hero of Time asked hearing tiny footsteps approach in the doorway. "You know a Sheikah contract like that is easily broken by impure blood."_

_"I grew up, Link." the queen grumbled spotting a child peering in through the open doors. "I suggest you do the same."_

_"I know of impure blood, Zelda." the Hero of Time muttered "It flows closer than you think."_

_"Enough!" the queen shouted "We all know the laws of the Sheikah nature!"_

_The Hero of Time stood, squaring his shoulders, pointing an accusing finger at her "You have doomed your people, Zelda. I will not be one of them."_

_"Then leave my castle and never come back." she spoke, keeping her face turned away._

_"Gladly." he spoke without malice or anger. And with that he turned and left leaving the queen alone in the room, muttering angrily to herself. Two children ran past him, the girl reaching for the Hero of Time's grey cape but missed and fell flat on her face; the older of the two, the boy stayed by his mother's side._

Tempus rubbed his face and stood back up, his eyes locking with the queen's. "I stand by what I say."

The queen raised her arm but did not make a move to hit him again, Tempus folded his arms.

"Just because you are a queen doesn't mean that I can tell you lies. I have never spoken one to you." Tempus said very calmly "Now, I'm going to help my Godson in any way I can."

"I'm coming." a voice said behind them. "This may be my son's magic but I can still get us through this barrier using my own."

"Atta' boy." Tempus said smiling "But I have other ways."

"I swear if you wave that ocarina around again I'm going to kick you where it hurts!" Ezekiel sighed as Tempus touched his cheek with the little blue instrument.

"Oh stop, you flatter me." Tempus giggled playing a few notes. A pair of wings broke through his tunic and twisted around "Hurry up, man!"

Ezekiel clung on tightly to Tempus's arms as they started to spin around and vanish in a confetti load of feathers, only to bash into the shield's wall with such a hit that they were thrown back a few feet into the growing crowd. Ezekiel let out a cry of horror, rushing up to the shield and banging his fists on it.

"He'll kill himself!" he screamed

"Will he now?" a voice asked from outside, pressing her fingers against the outside of the shield next to his. "I'll make sure he doesn't."

"Z-Zelda?! How did you get-?!" Ezekiel stammered watching the young princess step back a little holding a little dagger covered in blood and a bandaged cut on her arm.

"Blood is the only way you'll get out but it has to be yours." Zelda sighed "He made it so no one who was afraid of making a sacrifice for the sake of others would be harmed. He would rather us work that out for ourselves and make it strong enough to keep us in."

Tempus smiled and withdrew a small dagger from his boot and offered it to Ezekiel.

The man shook his head and held up a sais. "No, I owe him a cut from my own weapon."

With that, the man pulled back the sleeve of his arm and with a slight grimace and shaking of the hand, made a wound. The shield opened slightly for him, understanding and accepting his offer.

"Now then, let's find him." Ezekiel spoke helping Zelda over the huge gaps.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Here we go, the Hero of Time and the Queen of Hyrule Castle reunited after almost two decades apart, it seems that Tempus is still sore about her actions on their last meeting; one where Cole and the young princess Zelda were still toddling; just for the record, I love Tempus's character, he just takes everything in his stride but the things that he cares and knows he's right in he defends to the end, even if it means he comes off worse. Link has gone off on his own but what will he be able to do? Rosie hasn't even been in this chapter, shouldn't she know? And what did Pippa say? 'True form'? Does that mean that Aurora's human form is false? That's she really a dog rather than a human? OOH! Doesn't Pippa seem calm about all this when in Link's view? Did Tempus know of her true intentions from the beginning? Is that what he meant by not being able to talk chapter ago? That reminds me, now you know what the queen's deal was about don't you?

...Am I chatting to much?


	42. Buying Time

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Forty Two - Buying Time

Link tripped over his feet in a panic, he could hear the wave coming and he had run almost the entire length of Ikana Canyon, made easier by the lack of monsters, whom had all run away beforehand, not even a footprint lay in the snow that was less than a few days old. He stopped for a breather and looked back, he could see his bright light in the sky and the almost invisible shield just underneath, just as long as the others were safe and Pippa too. He had used so much of his power that not even she would be able to break through. Something pounced on him from behind, knocking him into the snow and narrowly a gravestone.

"Master!" she panted fluttering her wings

Link folded his arms and stuck out his bottom lip, he _had_ made it strong enough. Tempus.

"Master, please! You have to take shelter in the shield. You can't stop the wave!" she barked as Link pushed her off and dusted snow off his back

He shook his head and started running again completely ignoring her pleas

"Master! You'll become not-breath!" Pippa howled chasing after him, tugging at his boots without being kicked. Link halted holding his heart.

He was terrified. Terrified what would happen to the world if he was not in it to cure it of this plague. But if he turned back now he would not reach the shield in. The waves had climbed high enough to even touch it and was taking Clock Town as he thought, he could see it in the distance. There was no time to doubt his choices. He had to follow through with it. Even…even if…

He shook his head and tapped his hip to bring Pippa close to him. He moved his hand away from his heart and pulled out his bow, one ice arrow was not going to freeze such a big wave. He touched tips with other arrows, transforming them within his grasp and shooting them off as far and high as he could get them each one pulsating in the ground.

It was a long shot, pardon the pun.

He shut his eyes, praying that this would work and thrust out his arms; twisting his wrists to begin charming a spell that was of his own creation. He opened his eyes, they bright blue with speckles of silver dancing in them and a thin thread tied itself around his twisting wrists, linking each arrow together with a simple knot. He trusted the Great Ice Bird to help him gain height.

Bending his knees he whistled for Pippa to climb on, she was hesitant but did as she was told, was Master going to jump the wave?!

Without another second Link jumped like springs was attached to his feet. Pippa glanced down to see that his shoes had turned the clearest white as if they were made of snow and had little blue wings attached to them that was lifting him high into the clouds. He came down on the purple and grey sea that passed underneath them; he ducked into a ball and pushed out the blades on his shoes, spinning around as the wave came back into sight, the thread around his wrists unloosened as the ice climbed up towards him stopping the wave in an instant. He whipped out two ice arrows upon the thread snapping and landed with hardly a thump on top of the frozen water, freezing it as he started to slowly move forward.

The wave had been stopped.

But not yet destroyed.

A lone figure came up through the freezing water, their head low and their long orange hair blowing in an endless wind. They raised their head, smiling softly, Link flinched, this figure looked familiar, their friendly blue eyes made him stop his spells instantly.

"I could give you your mother back." said a voice out of nowhere, Link dropped to his knees as his mother vanished before him "But I would need something from you in return."

Pippa snarled and jumped off Link's back, her paws freezing under the cold wet that was slowly spreading over the dark wet. She arched her back staring at the two-legged before them, it had taken the shape of Master's Alpha, but she was of not-breath, not-breath could not come back.

Link stood back up, the figure coming closer, its feet barely making any sound as it walked on top of the water till it got to Link's side, a purple hand touched his shoulder, squeezing it tightly. Link slapped him off but it caught his hand, fingers and thumb pressing hard into the wrist.

"I know you have found a cure, but I have a bargain that is much better." it said feeling Link's frightened pulse on his wrist

Pippa leaped at the two-legged figure, teeth showing, going right through its body as purple flames started to envelop the figure, it was like a hot-beast-without-hot.

"If you give me what I want, I'll give you what you want. Easy." it spoke holding Link's chin as purple hair sprouted from the figures head, each hair dancing like flames.

Link tried to pull his hand away but was met with the figure now behind him; a few purple flames left hanging around his wrist like a bracelet. He smacked them into ash within an instant.

"If you give me Glint, I'll gladly bring your mother back. It would stop me infecting other people." it said, the look of innocence on his face as no laughter or aggression, not even a sigh escaped from it.

Link glanced at Pippa for a few moments before looking at the figure. As much as he wished his mother to come back, he did not want to give up the deity that lived within him, after all, Glint had been with him as a child managing his power; if he gave him up what would happen to himself? Would it harm him? Would it make him completely unable to use his power? And would Glint suffer? Would his mother hate him for not using this chance? Pippa pawed his leg, staring at him as all the questions flooded into his mind; the figure pressed its open palms on his head; making Link stand up straight and shut his eyes as if he had been delivered an electric shock.

"You need to relax more. Be a boy. Not a man." the figure sighed as Link flopped forward onto his stomach, Pippa growled.

Pippa showed her teeth and jumped on Link's back opening her wings wide to let the wind blow through her feathers.

"You've known not to trust my poes haven't you?" the figure chuckled "I shouldn't have underestimated you, Guardian of the Gods."

"I am no Guardian of the Gods. I am protector of my master and nothing else." Pippa roared flapping her wings hard but achieving no flight, instead little feathers started to flick up and sharpen like blades

"Of course, your real master clipped your wings as a pup, didn't he?" the figure spoke, Pippa arched her back as Link tried to push her off

"Speak not of the Fierce Deity!" Pippa roared "He is not my master!"

Link crouched by Pippa, using her to keep his balance, the entire world blurry.

"What do you say, Link?" the figure spoke the heatless flames burning away his ice.

Link shook his head,

The figure smiled "Such a stupid boy."

Link drew an arrow in his bow in a blur and let the green tip charge, the figure seemed unafraid as he shot it out, it went straight through it; dropping in the water behind him with a _plop_.

"You're too low on power; you cannot match mine!" the figure shouted pointing a finger out to him, lifting him up off the ice with Pippa "Pray for a soft landing."

Link barely got time to gasp as he was thrown with great strength over the wall of ice and down to the ground which was miles below. Pippa yelped and seized Link's collar in her mouth and opened her great wings as wide as she could to catch the wind, flapping them hard in an attempt to slow their decent down yet her best efforts came to a crashing failure as they collided with a few dozen snow covered trees and came to a sudden halt in the dust and snow of an old gravestone. Pippa landed even further, smashing though the brick of it and flopping down on the other side.

"Master?" she whispered standing on shaky legs, her breathing laboured as the ice around the wave started to give way to water, spraying it out like a hosepipe. "Are-are you alright?"

No reply, not even a sigh

She struggled to pull herself around the gravestone as a pair of hands broke through the soil, gripping Link's body above and pulling it down, Pippa bit at the hands to find them all bone, _yum._ She bit again as a pair of hands seized her from behind and pulled her struggling under the ground as the water began to slowly melt the snow around them.

"Will that be all, Captain Keeta?" a skeleton asked handing Link gently over to a man wearing a skeletal mask over his face

"You are relieved. Thank you, soldier." Ezekiel barked as the skeleton saluted, their red eyes shining off the glow on Zelda's lantern. Another skeleton handed Zelda Pippa, the soldier's face a mess of feathers and bite marks. Pippa ripped the wrist off the skeleton and chewed it hard, making the skeleton giggle.

Zelda put her lamp down and pulled the hand out of Pippa's mouth "It's alright, they're helping us." she spoke softly

"Yes, Ma'am, thank you, Ma'am!" the skeleton replied reattaching his hand to his arm with a beaming smile

"We need to get Link back up to the shield. It's not safe for the living here." Ezekiel spoke moving his hand to show it was covered in blood from the fall.

"We-we were thrown from the wave." Pippa sighed as Ezekiel and Zelda started to jog up the tunnels and through a wall without a second thought to a door hidden away by it.

Ezekiel opened it with a blood covered hand and pushed it back with a foot to let Zelda through. The place was devoid of life of any kind, even spiders refused to build their webs here on the patterned walls, it was a maze of bottomless drops and thin platforms, and the odd broken wall, still with patches of black around it from its break in a time hardly forgotten by the locals. They ignored it all, walking carefully across the thin maze of a floating path to get to a door that had a few metal bars lying covered in dust, a place where there used to be an enemy in metal armour.

"You ready?" Ezekiel asked as water started to flood in under the door

"Yes." Zelda whispered bringing the blue woodwind instrument Tempus held so dear out of her pocket and played the notes that had been rushed to instruction. Grimacing she dropped the instrument as a pair of white wings broke through the skin on her back, lifting high above her head and wrapping around her and Pippa, spinning them around and around till a green light above the Stone Tower Temple caught them and whisked them away in an explosion of feathers. Ezekiel soon following.

Zelda screamed as the wings faded away, appearing not on the ground, not even close, but directly at the light of the shield falling down to the floor below, Pippa fanned out her wings, flapping them hard as they fell; Pippa strained to keep Zelda in the air as Tempus jumped up from the ground, using Sky's back to give him more lift, catching them both mid-air and landing on his feet with both of them in his arms.

"You've got to teach me how you do that." Zelda gasped clinging onto the fabric of his tunic.

Tempus let out a light chuckle. "Experience. You'll invent your own way."

Ezekiel appeared at the light, dropping a few metres before vanishing in an explosion of white light and appearing on the ground hardly out of breath.

"Why are your hands covered in blood?" Sky asked pointing at his blood stained hands with a claw

"Rough landing." Ezekiel sighed handing Link over to Sky so he could wipe his hands

"But even a rough landing like that can't cause this much." Sky commented pulling at the belt on Link's tunic and lifting up his shirt to see the source of the problem was a few large cuts made by the stone hitting him on landing. Tempus gagged and pulled down Link's shirt

"Carry him on his side with his stomach to you, not his back; that looks really painful." Tempus sighed as Sky marched off

Ezekiel put a hand on Tempus's shoulder "I'm sorry."

"What for?" he answered wiping his hands on his hat

"For your eye and my words." Ezekiel mumbled "Malon always said you were the voice of reason."

"Someone had to keep their eyes on things while you were hiding." Tempus said touching the leather eye patch over his left eye with the tips of his fingers and bore a weak smile

"That's no excuse for how I acted, you were acting like a Godparent should, Malon knew she could trust you no matter what. I should have known that too." Ezekiel whimpered "I imagine she would be turning in her grave knowing what we were up to."

"I highly doubt that. She'll be watching Link and Rosie more than us two." Tempus laughed as Ezekiel handed him his ocarina back. "Although…"

"Although?"

"The plague got her…didn't it? Her spirit will be enraged with the others it took."

"They can't be peaceful till that thing is gone."

"I don't know what will happen when that wave melts." Tempus gulped "I truly don't. I fear the worst."

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Not bad huh? I thought Pippa could use her wings a little more, but she's really protective over Link isn't she? Why would this figure want Glint? How could he have him? Also, it was nice of Ezekiel to apologize to Tempus, the road to humility, yes? Not that Tempus is always right, he has good people skills.


	43. Protection

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Forty Three - Protection

"He's coming around!" Zelda whispered watching Link's eyelids flutter and open slightly so the purple iris could be seen underneath. He seethed through his teeth and tried to turn over, a hand stopped him

"Don't turn on your back, Link. It's been stitched." Impa spoke pulling soft blankets up under his arm.

Link groaned and sunk his head deeper into his pillow; he was exhausted. The plague had thrown him miles and he was powered down after such spells, he feared Rosie could not stand up against such a powerful foe; it was his duty as a brother to watch his sister.

He felt Pippa's head lying on his legs; she was just about as tired and had already made her cocoon of blanket around her legs, taking it off Link's feet. Link stroked her wingless back, she was nearly the size of him from nose to tail so it was almost like sleeping with another person at his feet; but he was used to her sharing his bed with it being on the floor at home…or what used to be home, she could lie with half of her out of it. She moved her head burying her head into the back of his knee, her cold nose touching bare leg.

He yawned and looked in Impa's direction; his eyes gradually closing. Impa brushed a hand through his hair and took his cap off, hanging it on the edge of the bed.

"You are a horrible patient. I know you've healed those wounds." she sighed lifting his shirt to see the wounds completely closed and the thread of the stiches removed in little bundles on the bed. "I still think you need bed rest. You've been awake for days, when did you last eat? Your clothes are hanging off you again."

Link moaned as she picked up the thread from behind him. He did not heal himself on purpose.

"I expect you to stay in here. Tempus and the others told us how your cured Rosie. They are making the cure up now in sick bay, it won't be long before you have resting patients in here with you." Impa chuckled.

Link sat up, shifting his legs as little as possible, his eyes still half closed.

"You scared me." Zelda mumbled weaving her hand into his. "You've really got to stop injuring yourself for others."

Link held her arm with his other hand, smiling weakly. His fingers feeling the bandaging under her sleeve

"You could have been killed or cursed or something!" Zelda squealed waking Pippa "And I don't know what I would have done-!"

Link raised an eyebrow and glanced in Pippa's direction as she turned over, ignoring them.  
Zelda grabbed Link's chin and pulled him to face her "I don't know what I would do without you."

Link tilted his head to the side, furrowing his brow

"You were my only friend once." she murmured "And my life would be incomplete without you in it."

Link smiled opening his arms to her and she dived in them, nearly pushing him off the other side of the bed

"You mean so much to me and I don't want to lose you!" she cried clutching his neck as tears started to drench her cheeks, Link held her tight, their hearts beating together, he was frightened of the future and what would become of it.

He made himself a vow. When all of this was over, he would remain in Zelda's life. Her friendship was more important than any world in any universe. He hoped it could be more than that.

"Promise you won't leave!" Zelda sobbed "Promise me you won't leave me alone!"

Link rocked her, nodding as she clung onto the fabric of his shirt, lifting her chin up with a finger he brought his lips to hers, brushing a hand through her wine coloured hair; Zelda brought her hands from around his neck and brought them to his cheeks shutting her eyes with him.

Tempus looked in while carrying some firewood to a nearby tent, seeing the two silhouettes share their woes and fears with each other was comforting. He had believed in Link's way of thinking at his age, even before then; how the world's problems were his to deal with when they were not for one person to tackle. He had often shared his concerns with Navi, his fairy from the Kokri Forest back in Hyrule as a child, when she left him had no idea what to do with himself, she was his one true friend, the one that had made him feel accepted in this world.

Friendship was important.

He smiled and walked on, leaving them alone.

Link drew back, still holding her head in his hands. His heart was thumping against his chest as Zelda made herself comfortable on the side of the bed rather than the chair and placed her head on his shoulder; she looked as tired as he did.

"Get some rest, Link. I'll see you in the morning." she spoke jumping up and smoothing her tunic down.

Link reached for her hand and dipped into his pouch, retrieving his mask and placing it in her open palm and closed her fingers around it.

"But…"

His gaze, the sad, trusting eyes told her not to argue.

"Alright." she sighed holding it to her heart.

The queen pushed back the curtain with two fingers, revealing many sleeping bodies lying within. Many of these unfortunate people had been confined in their homes, slowly starving to death because people were frightened of catching such a deadly disease, however a cure had finally been made for these people and each one of their biological clocks was turning backward, making them younger. She noticed how there was a bed space worth between each person and how none were on the floor, but were raised up on wood planks; the snow had been cleared away and even flowers were decorating the place. She continued to walk up to the very end; turning to face a bed with a young girl inside; she was sleeping under several layers of blanket, her hair almost ginger in colour and hardly a wrinkle on her.

"Rosie?" she whispered shaking her shoulder slightly

She stirred, sitting up while rubbing her eyes "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I would like to speak to you now if I may." the queen answered "Tempus is asleep."

Rosie rolled her eyes and leaned over to a table that was to the left of her bed, striking a match to light a candle. "What is it?"

"It's my fault this happened to you and your brother." the queen began "Tempus warned me about it not long after Zelda was born. The contract with the Sheikah of Spirit was only a week old and shattered like glass."

"Contract?"

"I made a deal with the Sheikah of Spirit, in return for the magic of the Poe Souls they would protect Hyrule from this Plague of the Dead. When Tempus came to me he was enraged and still is."

"We're his Godchildren, he's worried about us like an uncle would."

"Tempus is a voice of reason, a light to follow in darkness. He is very wise despite his attitude."

"His and Sky's knowledge have saved us countless times."

"Very likely. I've never met Sky before, but Tempus has told me about him many times when he was welcome within the palace walls."

"Is that why you banished him? Because you thought he had lost his mind?"

"He banished himself, I lost a great friend and teacher that day, it was only after people started getting sick I realized my mistake but by that time Tempus had left the country."

"Hmm."

"We're getting off track. What I'm saying is that the plague was made by the Sheikah of Spirit. It influenced the Shadow Folk of Fire and Water. Hence the purple paint."  
"Did you know about what would happen by giving them the souls of the dead?!"

"I didn't at first. After Tempus's…scene, I researched what I had done. The answers scared me so I began to hope for a cure that you two would create. I never imagined it would be you two that I needed. I had my guards check every child in Hyrule for the eyes of a Sheikah for almost two years, but saw no red eyes among them."

"That was Link's doing. He's much stronger than I; as a baby he used his magic to dye them. Father said so."

"I've kept you long enough, I just hope that you can accept a formal apology from me and Link's criminal record will be wiped clean."

"He'll appreciate it, thank you." Rosie yawned settling on the pillow as the queen made a move to leave the ward "I would speak to your brother, but I doubt he would be as trusting. Give him my thanks when he awakens."

Rosie remained awake long after the queen had gone listening to the sound of her brother's ice fall in sheets bigger than houses onto the ground with a deafening crack to the ground, spilling salt water onto the already parched ground. She turned over knowing that Link would have had a chance if she had helped him, what had Cole told her once? That their power was shared? Did that not mean that she needed to perform a spell of equal or greater power to bring them even? Link's shield was not built for protection from the outside like the one back in Hyrule. This one had been made to bring people closer to protect them from getting out, thinking about it; Link had made it so strong that blood was the only way out, yet people could get in without such an act, would the water get in if it rose to high?

She sat up, whether or not the shield would hold against the wave was another matter, she would have to use her magic to give him his back, re-enforcing the shield would not be a wasted use of it.

She tip-toed out of the room; picking up her staff to lean on and took glances of the people her brother had helped, all aging backwards; Sky had made sure that the ones that were older or in more danger would have the cure first; Aurora had also suggested this earlier in the day while the cure was being made. Tempus however had remained controlling the groups of people with Ezekiel.

It was quiet outside, though there were people around, they were on watch of the queens 'private' tent that she was sharing with Cole and Zelda or were asleep by the great fires the tents were circling; she walked out of the temple and peered over the edge, seeing the wave of frozen water below made her shudder; how close it had got before Link stopped it, it was almost at the bottom of the climb up here. She pressed her hands on the shield, looking over as much as she dared before starting to feel queasy.

"Why are you up so late?" a voice came making her turn sharp on her heel

"Oh, Sky. You scared me." Rosie sighed exhaling, Sky was perched on a large stone hand in his Loftwing form, his feathers and fur giving him warmth; his piercing eyes were not hard to miss in the darkness.

"There's not much to do at this hour." Sky shrugged fluffing up his feathers

"I was thinking of making the shield stronger." Rosie mumbled "Link needs his energy back."

"Agreed. I've had my doubts on this shield also." Sky replied glancing up at the dim light above that had called to everyone. "It grows smaller and darker every hour."  
Rosie nodded and placed a hand in her pouch feeling for her mask. Sky was the last thing she saw.

The writing behind the mask confused and entranced her; making her body and spirit feel so light; she dug her staff into the snowy ground before her and rested her arms by her side, her face emotionless as a small green light began to pulse at the very end of her wonky staff. She made fists forcing the light to grow yet no matter how she tried she could not get it to work. Through the writing that passed her face, a shape started to form and thousands of green shapes fluttered past her; they were like fairies but devoid of light and their wings carried dust. The shape started to turn humanesque; arms open palms up, inviting her in. She recognised it as her brother's silhouette guiding her even in his weakened state, there was no way he would let anyone take care of him.

Link scrunched his face up and turned over in his sleep, he could see Rosie in the darkness of his dreams, her face covered by butterflies of all colours and shapes; he was standing opposite her, his arms open, but she never moved, her fists clenched and a small green light beating like a heart in front of her. He made a move forward, taking her wrists and holding them up to cup the light, pushing them in gently to squeeze the light as if it were made of something soft till it shone in her closed palms.

Rosie could feel him helping her massage the light in her hands, powering it up till it shone through the gaps of her fingers and raise it above her head. Sky watched with a hidden smile as she let the tiny light go and climb high towards the light Link had hung in the sky. It swallowed it up, brightening it and making it pulse like it were alive.

It started to grow as Rosie made another, making it into a tiny ball and let it rise up to the light above, then another and another and another.  
As soon as the last one touched it, the light above exploded with a huge flash of light, blinding everyone who had moved from their tents to watch, even Sky fell from his perch in alarm. Rosie touched the ground, allowing emerald grass to tickle the tips of her fingers.

She removed the mask and sighed. Turning to view the wave one final time before hearing the last of the ice holding it back crumble and smash and begin climbing up towards the people.

She hoped it would be enough to stop it.

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Why would Link give his mask to Zelda? That thing has been with him so much in this story. This is the first magic spell that Rosie's done, or at least the first big one. And the Queen apologizing? Maybe she finally listened to Tempus, we should all listen to Tempus. It would help us greatly. I notice I've been kinda leaving Cole and Zelda out recently, I'll have to do something about that.


	44. Turning Stone Tower Temple

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Forty Four - Turning Stone Tower Temple

The purple salt water crushed the bricks on the climb up to Stone Tower Temple into sand making the shield shudder and the ground quake beneath them. Then suddenly, silence.

Rosie held her breath. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see a tent leaning ever so slightly towards the edge, it was almost unnoticeable till the flags on top of the tents started to lean in the same direction, logs started to roll from the piles and hit the ankles of passers-by that were in their way.

The light of the early morning sun coming from the never ending horizon was blotted out as the huge wave towered over the shield, dripping onto it at first before crashing down on top, making everything shudder as it forced gallons of weight onto it. Rosie toppled over like her back had suddenly gained a huge sum of weight. The last of the sky above vanished and a humanesque figure dropped in from above in a cloud of wispy smoke. The ground rumbled as the water pushed down in an effort to crush the shield.

"Strange. I expected you in my army." said the figure pointing a smoking finger at her "No matter. I shall feed here. Your brother has gathered everyone here for me."

"Link did this to save everyone, not to help you!" Rosie argued leaning on her staff in effort to stand.

"Maybe not intentionally." the figure muttered throwing a hand out. "Although, you still escaped my flames and my waters, I don't think that will go without punishment."

"Rosie!" came a shout from Sky's direction, claws open wide he dived at the figure, pushing it down to the ground for a few seconds, but it vanished and reappeared behind him, once more in the company of wispy purple flames. "I will not let you hurt her."

"A Skyloftian? I never thought I'd see the day when one of your people would come back down to the surface again." the figure spoke raising his hands, Sky struggled, bringing his wings over his beak as strings and wood of a mask started to appear on his face till eventually he screamed in pain and threw his head back, his bird mask in the hand of the figure. Sky dropped to his knees, his fingers touching his face. That mask had been given to him to wear by his Lord and Master, it had allowed him the power to change into his animal appearance at any time he pleased as was Tempus's.

"Give it back!" Sky screamed drawing his blade and raising it skyward to send out a bolt of light in the figure's direction. It went straight through it. Rosie's mask escaped from her face, lifting high into the air and into the figure's other hand.  
"Come on out, coward. You've toyed with me long enough." the figure called out as people started to gather sheepishly from their tents to look at the thing that had killed so many loved ones, even so, they were deathly afraid of the monster.

Rosie could see Tempus hiding in the shadows of a nearby tent, his sword drawn hand tightly around the hilt.

"I am no coward." Tempus spoke, his mask in his shield hand, showing his bare face, small tan lines where the mask had been all these years, though his eye was looking even worse without the mask, though he still wore the eye patch he had made for himself.

"The Hero of Time. I smell a wound on you." the figure said without turning, the mask rose up but Tempus managed to keep his grip on it till a log rose from the ground, carried by three blue flames with white eyes

"Tempus!" Rosie cried as the log was smacked into the back of his head at his blind spot.

He crashed to the floor.

"Who knew such a strong man could be beaten so easily?" the figure sighed as a third arm and hand appeared out of its body, hand open to pick up the mask. "One left."

Rosie watched its glance turn to Link's tent. "No! You can't-"

She did not even get to finish her sentence before being knocked out by another log, Sky spun on his heel, slicing a log that was ready and waiting behind him and lunged at the figure with a roar. A forth hand came out and grabbed his neck making him choke on his breath and nearly lose grip of his weapon.

"A knight eh? You didn't want to become a warrior at all." the figure chuckled squeezing on Sky's windpipe making him struggle like a hanging animal, the figure grew long ears on its featureless face, the left one flicked; making the figure turn and smack Sky's body into Ezekiel's, stabbing a knife into Sky's side to turn his tunic crimson.

Aurora broke through the crowd then, yapping and biting as Flames pulled at her fur and wings. The figure threw Sky on top of the dazed Ezekiel and marched towards Aurora.

She snarled "Reaper, you waste of breath! Call off your minions!"

A thin line marking a smile appeared on the figure's cheeks. "You remembered my name? How sweet. You didn't seem too bothered when I had you on the ropes."

"I was busy fighting you!" Aurora replied as the Flames left her be.

"Oh really? Look around you. I see unconscious bodies everywhere. Even those who are the claim to be the strongest warriors have gone down without even a fight, pity. I expected more."

"You still carry the scars!" Aurora growled as Reaper rose from the floor in a wispy line of smoke. Reaper made a move to Link's tent; not walking but floating over the emerald grass, tuning it brown as it moved. Aurora charged after him but Flames jumped in her way, forcing her to withdraw as they pulled at her wings and fur till it coated the ground.

Reaper drew back the flaps without moving its arms to find the room empty. The bedding was pulled back and hanging off the bed, the mattress still warm.

"Very clever, Earth Mage." he said dusting the room with a light fog, he raised an arm pointing his fingers out to send some purple flames to light up the dimly lit tent, no more than two rows of empty beds and a single bookshelf were housed within. The Flames searched around the beds, tearing the sheets to pieces and scorching the wood of the bed itself, they threw books off the shelves, scattering them on the floor in a heap of torn papers and broken bottles that were unfortunately sitting on the lower shelves. A pair of white eyes opened up on the figure, devoid of pupils. Link was not in here. His many Flames could not find him in this room, but he could hear the boy breathing in the background, he could be hiding amongst the shadows with his Guardian. A Flame shouted, shouldering a chest that was at the foot of the last bed till the lid flew open to show it was completely empty, all the bits of pieces thrown on the floor in haste.

Reaper turned, "Find his mask! The boy too, he's a thorn in my side."  
The Flames departed, some remaining in the tent to continue their search while the rest moved into the crowd.

Link breathed out, that had been a close one. He had seen the flames look in the chest but if they had moved it they would have caught him. Pippa had used all her strength to dig a hidey hole for them under it and was exhausted; she was about ready to throw in the towel but she knew as long as Master was fighting, so was she could tell he was tired too. But hopefully, their quest was coming to an end. Link pushed the chest out of the way and pushed Pippa up through the gap before clambering up himself with a sigh.

He opened his pouch and retrieved the fruit from within before breaking it open with his bare hands and covering himself in the juice; when he had finished he looked like he was wearing war paint. The orangey-red juice dripped off his body hissing on the floor where Reaper had stood.

"I knew you would show your face." it spoke appearing behind him, the ground rumbled and the beds started to shuffle across the floor towards him.

Link made fists and Pippa regrew her wings; lifting them high above her head.

"You are not in any position to be fighting. But if you insist." Reaper sighed throwing a hand out, Link's clothes around his neck suddenly tightened.

"Leave my master alone!" she roared picking up a section of the fruit in her mouth and pouncing on Reaper, yet one of his arms reached out and grabbed her neck; she dropped the fruit, letting it roll away but her teeth were still wet and tangy from its taste. She sunk her teeth into his wrist, cutting open a wound that leaked out blackness. Reaper dropped her, holding his wound in with two arms, Link saw his chance and drew a green arrow from his quiver he had hastily put on and shot an arrow into Reaper's chest. The flowers refused to grow, he could not do this alone!

"Take him!" Reaper shouted pulling the arrow out of his chest, black tar-like ooze dripping off it like fresh blood. Reaper pointed all of his hands in Link's direction throwing out Flame after Flame at him. Link whistled for Pippa patting his shoulder as he shut his eyes. The Flames bounced off a shield, Nayru's Love, as it protected them both.

Link marched forward, the rim of his cap shadowing his eyes as the magic of the shield wore off giving way to something much stronger. A bright light that coated his entire body.

Link seized Reaper's neck in one hand and raised him off the ground without an emotion on his face. Reaper pushed him back but Link's grip only strengthened around his neck. Pippa snarled as Link's free hand held the wood of the arrow in Repear's hands; his fingertips barely touching it. He pushed the arrow further in the solid form without much care; twisting and jerking like a key that would not fit in its hole as much as he could.

Reaper clawed at Link's arm as he could feel the arrow burning his insides, or what insides he had anyway; yet no matter how much he dug his fingerless nails into Link's flesh, no blood spilled; just the tips were soaked in Life Fruit juice that stung him.  
He removed his cap, yanking it off his static hair onto to see a pair of blank iris's in the eyes underneath, just like he was a Flame himself. Pippa jumped on Reaper's back then, going for his head. Reaper clicked his fingers.

A deafening crack broke through the tower as the waves above fought to get in; the shield stayed intact; yet everything inside fell on its head as it toppled over and started to sink below the waves. Link lost his grip as everything rolled to one side, Pippa opened her wings as the book shelve toppled over on her and a bed screeched across the ground.

Link ducked down keeping himself flat as it ripped through the side of the tent and rolled, crashing into another tent. Reaper vanished as the world around them turned upside-down, forcing everything that was not attached to the ground to flip. Link clung onto the turning tent with one hand and his beloved friend in the other; burying his face into her fur as the drop down was a far one. They were stuck.

Tempus sat up rubbing the back of his head through his cap.

"Ouch." he grimaced bringing his hand forward to check for blood, thankfully, he found none. "Rosie? Sky?" he shouted leaning on his sword to stand up. "Wait a minute…"

"Tempus!" Cole shouted from a tent up above as a bed clattered down just next to him

"Cole! Are you alright?!" Tempus shouted back, rubbing his eye "What happened?"

"We're upside-down!" Cole screeched as the tent ceiling ripped underneath his feet, making him grab for a flap that was dangling down.

Tempus wised up immediately and looked at his feet, he was standing on the ceiling of the shield; not the grass above. Had he fallen directly down? Or had it been a gradual slide?

He could not see for purple water that bashed against the shield like it were alive; but they were safe for now.

"Hang on, we'll get you down!" Tempus called up "Any sign of the…I have no idea what it is; but it's like a giant purple flame!"

"We haven't seen anything like that!" Zelda called, poking her face through the hole in the tent "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Rosie and Sky are here, so is Ezekiel. Is Link with you?" Tempus asked running over to Rosie's body; she had a bump on her head as did he. "Rosie? Rosie!"

She moaned and clung to the fabric of his tunic, Aurora landed on his back, falling from a tent above

"Ow!" Tempus groaned pushing the mutt off and rubbing his forehead where he had clonked it with Rosie's. "I thought you could fly."

"I can. I wasn't ready." Aurora sighed fluttering her wings "You know how to turn this place around, don't you?"

"The Stone Tower Temple has mechanics that can turn it the other way. However, the amount of people in here is a new concern. Many have fallen from their tents." Tempus said slowly, gathering his thoughts. "I need to tend to people down here. Bring some order into this chaos." Tempus sighed "Rosie, how do you feel?"

"I'm okay." she mumbled standing up on her own while holding her head

"Good. I need you to help me." Tempus said with a smile "The Plague wants us to act rashly. We must not do that. I will bring people who need medical attention to you. In the meantime, try and get Sky and your father to come to."

"Yes, Tempus." Rosie spoke rushing off to roll Sky off her father.

Tempus turned to Aurora "You can help those hanging on for dear life by the tent flaps and bring them down safely. And…if you find anyone that is-"

"I know. I have to push them out. We can't have anyone attracting them. I know." Aurora sighed sitting down and curling her tail around her hind legs "I've never seen this side of you."

"Well, sometimes…you just have to be serious." Tempus muttered into his hand "I don't like to be; I've had two childhoods and I had no choice but to act like an adult then.  
Now that I am one, the world is no different however; I remain with my childlike senses. A child lives within us all till the day we die. It is up to us how much freedom we give it."

"Is that why Glint shows up as he does? Link's inner child?" Aurora asked making Tempus halt

"You've seen him?" Tempus questioned turning on his heel.

"I haven't. Pippa has. He takes the form of Link's younger self. An exact copy." Aurora informed "Is it because Link never had a childhood?"

Tempus did not reply. It was rare that a man that could fit into a hero's shoes; had a childhood they could call memorable.

Aurora went up to Cole who was hanging on to a tent flap as best as he could as Aurora helped him down the best she could and sat down next to him as the blood raced back into his arms

"Are you alright, Cole?" she asked offering a paw

"Yes; I'm fine. Go help the others." Cole sighed flexing his arms and turning to face Rosie as she tore open Sky's tunic and bandaged up his dripping side; he was starting to wake.

"It took my mask. My other forms." he groaned, sitting up while holding his head

"Why do you wear the mask, Sky? You have a nice face, no scars or anything." Cole asked coming into his line of sight,

Sky shuddered "It is my true form. This Hylian body is…a replacement."

"A replacement?!" Cole and Rosie shouted

"Yes. I look like I was when I was younger, but now that I have entered the Realm of the Heroes, my Hylian body was no longer needed. Humans are contaminators of the Realm and thus, have to part with the human bodies with a mask of their time. As a Skyloftian, it seemed right for me to take the form of a bird."

"What about Tempus? has he entered the realm? Is that why he can change into a wolf?" Rosie asked as Aurora landed with Zelda hanging over her back

"Tempus is a man of mystery; he himself has been part of the 7-foot-god as a child. This is why he can transform the way he can and freely change his mask. But he has never set foot in the realm; he's not ready to say goodbye to this world." Sky spoke "I left for the realm when I was quite old, my mid-nineties; upon opening the door, I was greeted with a powerful voice; its words took years from me and threw a mask on my face, causing my transformation; when I came to; I was in a field of grass with a single tree in the centre; where…where I met him."

"The 7-foot-god?" Cole whispered as Zelda joined in the conversation

"Yes. He had also taken another form and had two dogs with him. From then on, he became my Lord and Master." Sky finished as Ezekiel awoke, wising up immediately.

"Rosie!" he sighed holding his daughter's shoulders almost desperately "You're alright!"

"Of course I am, Father." she replied nodding her head.

"Where's Link?" he asked, everyone looked at each other in silence, all eyes pointing in the direction of Tempus who was searching through the piles of unfortunate bodies nearby.

Link clung onto Pippa tighter, his arm was growing numb and it was getting harder to hold on; whenever he tried to move the tent flap would tear even more under their weight. He cleared his mind, they were so high up, he was frightened of falling but he did not have much time left to work out what to do and his thoughts were all pointing to the same conclusion. This fall would kill him.

There was no time to make a shield on the way down, he nudged Pippa to look at him and nodded

"Master, no! I'm not leaving!" she exclaimed trying to get to his collar to glide him down, the tent flap tore more with her movement. Link relaxed his grip on her she started to struggle on him, her paws pulling on his tunic. She fell, forcing her to open her wings to slow her down and glide gently to a stop leaving Master there, his body moving as the tent began to give way; leaving his hand slipping down the cloth.

He shut his eyes and clenched his fists, surely there must be time! He heard the cloth rip and felt gravity take him, now or never! He focused himself not to be frightened of the drop; he would not feel it.

"Link!" Zelda screamed seeing the little silhouette fall in the background, blue electricity surging around him as the spell refused to work in time.

He bounced off the ground, the shield creating sparks as his body rolled across the ground, his arms were crossed over his chest and they could hear the pained grunts as he rolled with speed till he hit the shield wall and coming to a stop.

"He had no time to thicken it!" Sky shouted pulling himself up off the ground slowly and jogging over to him with Tempus and the others. The shield around him had gone but the look on his face suggested he was in great pain that he could not heal; a few drops of blood dribbled from his mouth making everyone, even Tempus flinch.

"Master!" Pippa yapped coming through; licking his cheek as Link woke himself up, holding his chest.

"Link, where does it hurt?" Tempus asked his kind hands touching Link's. Link smiled weakly and wiped the blood off his face; though they could tell he was being brave for the sake of them.

"It's up there isn't it?" Rosie mumbled cupping her hands over her heart.

"Yes." Tempus replied, his voice grave, he searched through his pouch and handed Rosie his Zora mask "You'll need this."

"But-" Rosie argued pushing it back slightly

"No ands, ifs or buts." Tempus snapped "I can't fight this battle. It is yours as Mages. Take it."

Rosie took the mask and held it at her face but did not cover it; instead she looked at Tempus's grim face. It was her turn.

"Yes. This is our battle." she spoke almost distantly and pressed it against her face, crouching down on one knee as the transformation took place. It was pure agony.  
She covered her face with her hands before throwing her neck back to show the thick black cracks lining her face and dark pupiless eyes. She threw her weight forward again gasping for breath as her body began to change colour; turning aqua blue with coral green lines going up her arms and across her face like war paint. Her clothes tore and ripped making Cole automatically cover his eyes as thick boomerang shaped fins stuck out like broken wings, gills formed on her neck like someone had gone over with a cheese grater and thin web-like skin formed between her fingers as her hair vanished into nothing and became a tail with two fins at the back like a ponytail with green stripes and dark blue spots.  
She panted when the transformation completed, the pain subsided before standing up to face the jaw-dropped people staring blankly at her.

Sky crept to Link, crouching down to him and carefully placing a necklace with a light blue scale on the end.

"Zora's are fast swimmers, hold your breath and let her carry you up." he spoke sitting him up.

Link gave a shallow nod and opened a hand to his sister; she took it and cut her arm with a throwing star from Ezekiel.

"I understand your teachings." she spoke as the blood dripped off the star onto the floor and through the shield. "But sometimes…we need help to complete the lesson."

Rosie broke through the water, dragging her barely conscious brother with her, even with the dragon necklace; he still gasped for air when they came to the surface. Rosie retrieved an ice arrow from his quiver and froze a platform for them.

"Stay awake." she snapped giving him a slap on the nose.

"He doesn't have to. I can smell his wounds." Reaper sighed hovering above the water, the vine arrow lodged at a painful looking angle in his chest, a few flowers had started to grow on it, but many petals lined the water from recent attempts. Link got up, leaning on Rosie's staff, but the fall from the tent had damaged him inside; the boy did not have long left.

Link inhaled, holding his chest as he did so and flicked his skates on his boots, his gaze fixed as he drew another ice arrow and attached it to the band on his wrist, freezing the water as it lengthened. With his other hand, he readied his bow, a vine arrow already waiting on the string.

Rosie thumped her staff against the ice, twisting it round in her hands, muttering spells in the old language, ones from her book, Mudora's book. The ice thickened.

"You challenge me?" Reaper chuckled looking at the blank crystalline eyes that stared at him.

Link let go of Rosie's staff.

"We do challenge you." Rosie spoke, her voice not her own "We challenge you as Mages of the Earth and Moon!"

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well, the Stone Tower Temple has upturned, many have been inured or worse in that accident, Rosie and Link go into battle now. The 'villain' of sorts has a name now. Reaper. It answers how Aurora got infected now doesn't it? Tangling with the cause of the illness itself. Sky now has a back story! Yay! What does Reaper intend to do with those masks? Is that the reason Link gave his up?  
Also, this chapter is 8 A4 pages long. So yes. It is longer.


	45. Bravery

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Forty Five - Bravery

Reaper turned around; one of his several arms playing with the arrow that was lodged in his chest, brushing a few petals off it. He threw his head back in laughter, getting confused glances from Link and Rosie's direction.

"You talk big, but you know as well as I do that you aren't nearly as powerful as you think you are!" he cackled pointing a finger at Rosie, the clothes around her neck tightened, making her drop her staff; Link shot the arrow but it went straight through him.

Rosie snarled pulling at her neck as Link brought another arrow out. Something came into view in the background behind Reaper. Link beamed as Pippa came skidding along the ice wearing what appeared to be a blue sock hat around her body. Her footing was off balance but she was coming at such a speed that brakes were out of the window; she raised her wings and clapped them together, some feathers spread out around her like tiny throwing stars, the tiniest point where the feather would join to the skin was as sharp as a knife as almost a dozen of them flew at an even greater speed towards Reaper. He cracked a smile and braced himself for the pathetic impact, but instead they all missed and went for Link; throwing themselves into his quiver and attaching to his arrows.

She pounced on Reaper, sinking her teeth into the arm focused on Rosie, drawing a tar-like substance that stunk like not-breath. Her claws scrambled on his limbs, trying to hold on as she beat her wings in his face.

Rosie recovered; gasping for breath as Reaper tried to pull the canine off him, Link braced his arms and pulled back a third vine arrow, waiting for Pippa to give him an opening; Rosie began her charm, whispering words and blessings towards the arrow. Pippa clapped her wings in Reapers face and jumped to his head as Link's arrow flew forward; striking him in one of the arms.

"Cresce!" Rosie shouted throwing an arm out "O ingens telum, cresce!"

A few blossoms formed around the imbedded arrow in Reaper's arm, he tried to push it off but the vines and flowers grew to quickly; squeezing the limb till it was half the size it should have been but then, it vanished leaving no more than a stump and a lump on the floor.

Silence.

"Oh…you're serious?" Reaper chuckled seizing Pippa off his head and throwing her to the frozen floor; she rolled over and picked herself up, whining a little but by no means defeated. "I guess I'll play in your little game."

Rosie and Link exchanged a glance as he lifted higher off the floor, holding his stomach around the arrow; in each hand he held a mask, one Rosie's, one Tempus's and the last one Sky's; however, Rosie spotted that Link's was gone; she looked for a trace of it on him, but found none, what had he done with it?

Reaper let out an ungodly yowl as his form changed. The masks he held lifted from his hands and circled above his head as all figure was lost on him; turning into a blob of floating purple goo. Sky's mask joined up, being swallowed in making the shape grow a pair of black feathery wings with so sharp of tips it looked like you could chop wood like it were butter with one stroke, Tempus's mask was next to be swallowed in; two pairs of legs reached out from the blob with talons on each grotesque paw, the matted fur as black as night with flecks of purple dots on it. Then Rosie's joined in, resting on a beak that appeared out of the blob; it was the size of a Loftwing, towering over them with a shadow that was even bigger than that.

Pippa snarled, Aurora and Glint's master would be furious to see those gifts gone like that!

Reaper landed on his paws and flapped his wings, roaring till the clouds shuddered as a pair of tusks grew beside a thin mouth.

Rosie composed herself as Link called Pippa to his side with a sudden whistle. Reaper shook himself down and charged forward at Link.

Link did not falter, he kept himself calm and crouched down with Pippa behind him; he drew an ice arrow and pulled the string back, waiting for the monstrosity in all its size to come forward

"Link!" Rosie screamed as he shot the arrow, hitting his target with a wall of ice, Pippa leaped onto its back and pulled at Tempus's mask; there was awful tasting goo surrounding it, humming like a fire as she pulled at it, no matter how much she tugged; Reaper threw her off so that she landed skidding across the ice again.

Link jumped into the air, even though Pippa did not detach the mask, he could try. He held another ice arrow into the air as he crashed onto the charging monster. Reaper tried to throw him off but even with bow in hand, Link managed to cling onto his fur on his back as he ran around. Rosie watched as his eyes turned aqua in colour and the arrow lift from his closed hand; it flew upwards as if it had a mind of its own, growing bigger and changing shape as it touched the sky, parting the dark clouds before coming down in the shape of a gigantic bird with frozen feathers; seizing the mask from Reaper's body with its claws; pulling it off without mercy. Link latched on to the bird's legs letting it carry him to Rosie's side.

"How…how did you do that?" she breathed as he landed in a crouch; he held his heart and wiped his face free of blood, he had not been touched, how was he bleeding?

Pippa staggered to her feet and threw open her wings as the bird landed next to her,  
squawking loudly and throwing out a fire made of frost and snow to freeze the entire stretch of water before flying off into the distance to continue its work. Pippa came back to Link's feet as Reaper changed form once more.

Zelda thumbed Link's mask, she remembered his serious gaze when he entrusted it to her; for all she knew he could be dead now and she was just sitting here with the others; she knew they were busy tending to people, both sick and injured to really help Link and Rosie above but surely she could do something. Aurora flew down to her and folded her wings around Zelda as if to hug her.

"I don't understand it." Zelda sighed "Why would he give this to me? He needs this."  
Aurora thought for a moment. "Perhaps he wants you to have it; just in case."

"Not a good answer, Aurora!" Zelda barked jumping up and rushing towards the edge of the shield

"Are you mad?!" Cole screamed grabbing her around the stomach as she touched it

"Let go!" she wailed kicking her legs like they were on springs

"You've got no way to breathe and you can't hold your breath till you get up there!" Cole spoke, Zelda stopped struggling

"There is always more than one way to do things." Tempus chuckled from behind them, the royals turned to see him standing behind him holding his old water tunic over his arm, it was worn around the knees and elbows were torn like an old flag but even so; it showed that he had cared for it over the years.

Zelda beamed and jumped on Tempus hugging his neck.

"Tempus, you genius!" she squealed taking the clothes off him and holding them against her, they were miles too big for her; even Cole would not be able to fit into them…on his own.

"Cole, I'm going to need you." Zelda grunted pulling his arm.

"I'm not going to see that again, am I?" Tempus laughed walking over to Impa who was tending to a crying child. "Pippa stole my hat."

"I would place a wager." Impa smirked wrapping a bandage around the girl's arm.

"Tempus? Tempus! Is it really you?!" came a shout from the distance; her gingery coloured hair bounced off her shoulders and a bow over her shoulders

"Romani! I thought I never see you again!" Tempus cried dashing up to the woman and squeezing her tight to his chest "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" he cupped her wet cheeks, drenched from happy tears. Her eyes were the same cobalt blue as his with little flecks of hazel around the irises and her cheeks were still dotted with freckles. She wore a short white dress with blue stitching around the neck sleeves and bottom with a light pink scarf over her shoulders and back, her yellow one as a child had been made into a bandage for her husband after a very nasty shark bite as a Zora.

"My big grasshopper. Calm down." she cooed holding his chin in her fingers and kissing his lips "I know you will do everything to keep us safe. Boys! I've found him!"

"Papa!" came a squeal as a blond haired child with brown tips on the ends of his hair; no older than ten broke through the crowd and hugged Tempus's legs, he fell over on his back, but flipped himself forward into a crouch "Papa! We missed you!"

"I know, Pierre. I've missed you to!" Tempus chuckled holding his son in his arms "Where's Johnathan?"

"Dad!" an older boy yelled jumping on his back and hugging his neck, Tempus lay his head against the gingery haired boy; a young man of thirteen with large blue eyes and long brown hair that was tied up in a plait.

"Tempus?" Ezekiel whispered holding a hand to his mouth "You never stop surprising me."

"Ah, Ezekiel. I want you to meet my wife, Romani, and my boys, Johnny and Pierre." Tempus said grinning like a cat.

Ezekiel turned pale "She…you-you… But you've been with Lulu! How can you have a-"

"I was a father figure for Lulu's children and grandchildren; they knew that I was not their father, yet I acted in that position for the sake of Mikau; he wanted to see his children, so I let him see through my eyes. He would be proud." Tempus replied closing  
Ezekiel's open jaw with a finger

"I knew about Lulu. I knew how much he meant to those children." Romani smiled as Pierre clambered onto Tempus's shoulders "When we got married Lulu told me about them; at the time, I was pregnant with Johnny."

"So-so…you got married…and you never told us?! Not me, not Malon, who I will point out looks like her!" Ezekiel shouted pointing a finger at Tempus

"Granted, there are some residents in Clock Town that look similar to those in Hyrule, but that's where the similarities end, they have individual lives; surely as a Terminan resident you should have spotted this." Tempus spoke, his voice ever so calm

Ezekiel raised a finger but then lowered it. "No, I didn't."

"Now do you understand, Ezekiel? Now do you understand why I was so protective over Link and Rosie? Your words stung like venom." Tempus spoke poking him in the chest

"I…I didn't know you were a father, Tempus. I'm sorry." Ezekiel whispered lowering his head

Tempus brushed his hair back, Romani placed her fingers on the leather eye patch he wore. "Honey, what's this?"

"It's alright. I got into a fight." Tempus replied, Romani turned her head so sharp in Ezekiel's direction that both men flinched

"Did you do this?" she asked her fingers itching to draw her bow, already her arm was reaching over her shoulder.

The man did not even get a chance to start his sentence.

Reaper scratched his claws in the ice and spread out a pair of wings that dripped ooze as Link shot an arrow into one. Pippa snapped her jaws and charged forward, throwing out more feathers she jumped off his newly grown beak and landed on his back once more, sinking her teeth into his feathery back. He rolled over, squashing her onto the ice and then under it. The bubbles rose from underneath the water's surface. Link took another shot, shouting in silence; Rosie charmed the arrow, the blossom eating at his wing.  
Reaper's wing fell off in a lump, much to his annoyance; Link made a move to dive in after Pippa but Reaper smacked him in the face with the other wing, throwing him away.  
The bubbles stopped. Reaper lifted his claw talon out of the water, the canine encased in them; Link let out a cry of horror as his beloved friend was thrown on the ice like pile of rags and left there in a wet heap.

"Don't move!" Rosie order throwing an arm out

Link snarled at her and composed himself, his eyes focused solely on Pippa's body.  
Rosie stepped forward showing the tight bindings around her throwing star cut. "Blood is thicker than water, melt the ice; Link!" she shouted pulling the bandages off and letting them fall to the ice; Reaper turned to Rosie and rose his wing up; throwing giggling purple flames at her. Link jumped in front of her, casting the blue shield before her, the flames bounced off like balls as Link drew a fire arrow in his fingers, fighting to keep the shield going he tossed it up into the air, allowing it to sprout wings and breathe fire and smoke.

The shield dispelled and he lost his stance, finding it harder and harder to keep his balance as more blood dribbled over his lips.

Rosie grabbed his arm and looked into his eyes; the Fire Bird that grew from within the arrow flew across the ice for a moment, creating a wall of fire between Reaper and them.

"Pull out your skates, young ones, the only way to destroy it is with the Life Fruit Tree." he said picking Pippa up in its yellow beak and sticking out its talons. Link crouched down and pulled Rosie onto his back flicking out his skates as the ice turned crispy and into blocks. Link grabbed the Fire Bird's ankles and hopping from foot to foot on the shrinking ice cubes. Rosie turned around and flashed her arm while the other was clasped around her brother's neck and staff. Reaper broke into flight, chasing the great bird at high speed wishing for Rosie's blood.

The Ice Bird came down from the clouds, colliding head on with Reapers beak, freezing the monster in an instant and snatching another mask from its back and flying towards them

"You don't have long, young ones." she said "The Life Fruit Tree needs to break through from under the water to turn it pure and then and only then, can you deal the final blow to Reaper."

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

The battle continues, Link gave his mask to Zelda because he knew? Or guessed? Pippa's smart too, taking Tempus's water tunic hat. Nice. Also, do you think Romani will beat Ezekiel up or will Tempus allow it...for a little while? You know what he's like people, it's been 45 chapters..._its been 45 chapters...I never thought I'd be able to make a story that big._


	46. Peace and Peaceful

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Chapter Forty Six - Peace and Peaceful

Zelda's jaw nearly touched her feet when she saw Tempus holding a woman that looked like a younger version of the late Malon back. Cole had also gone quiet, but he wore a smile that itched and begged to turn into laughter.

"Romani, don't kill him!" Tempus squealed dragging her kicking and screaming off Ezekiel; his right eye black and blue and his bottom lip dripping blood and his nose looked uncomfortable in the position it was in…and so did his left wrist.

"Wow." he commented as he wiped his face with the back of his hand, Tempus held Romani's shoulders keeping her back

"Calm down. It's alright. It made him see sense." Tempus spoke his voice extremely calm.

"But-but you can't see out of it! Why would he do that to you after everything you do for him?" Romani asked pulling at his tunic

"I don't blame him." Tempus sighed "I was angry myself, I made the first slash."  
Romani remained silent for a few moments; then gave him a quick slap on the cheek, Zelda went back inside the tent to howl in laughter into a pillow.

"Ouch…" Tempus whimpered holding it with a gloved hand

Romani sighed "Honey, I know you protect us from anything but…I'm scared and I don't normally get scared."

"My Godson and Daughter are out there fighting. The royals are joining them." Tempus reassured, his hands weaving through her long hair

"But aren't you going?" Romani asked holding his cheeks

"I can't. I wouldn't be able to reach the surface. Rosie has my mask and the royals are sharing my tunic."

"But the Zora's are here, surely a merchant must have one!" Romani wailed "And you have the Song of Soaring too!"

"The Owl Statues that control that song are underwater now; it would be the same." Tempus answered shrugging his shoulders. "I have rupees, but as you can see, only people and the possessions they had at the time have come here."

Romani looked disheartened, her eyes falling as she came into him for a hug.

Zelda recovered from her laughter. "We're ready."

"Good luck." Tempus spoke waving them off into the dark waters before them. They disappeared without a trace.

"We can't just leave them!" Ezekiel shouted, Tempus did not even move from holding his wife and sons, he only glanced in his direction.

"We will." Tempus spoke, his voice hard "They know what they're doing."

"You have too much faith in the children." a voice snarled from across the way, Tempus raised his head

"And you have forgotten the power children have, Your Majesty." Tempus dismissed, looking up to see a few streams of light seep in through the waves. "And besides; as the holder of Wisdom, surely you know what is to happen."

"He's right." Aurora muttered flapping her wings "I've seen it."

The ice was wearing thin. Link struggled to keep moving, his limbs were getting harder to control and refused to obey him, he was so cold. He let go and skidded to a halt, avoiding some of the branches that poked through the melting ice and waves; he gently placed Rosie down by a branch and held out a green tipped arrow, twisting it around in his hands till it grew taller and taller till it was almost twice his height. Rosie held onto his arm and blinked with him; their eyes changing colour and waiting for Reaper to come in contact with them.

Link plunged the arrow into the branch allowing Rosie to charm it before stepping onto it. Reaper seized Link in his talons, thumping him down on the ground and pressing down on his chest till he screamed, Rosie was carried away into the dark clouds above, watching her brother struggle underneath Reaper.

"Link! Use your shields! Save yourself!" she howled over the growing branches and leaves, the birds landed next to her as Reaper tore at Link's clothes in an effort to get to his skin, yet Link pushed against his feet and beak with all his might, his edges of his mouth crimson with his own blood.

Suddenly Pippa leaped onto Reaper's back, pulling at his feathers and fur with such a rage that her eyes were pulsing red with anger. Link backed away slightly as he saw her wings growing larger and darker, going from the pure white he was now used to, to a golden brown colour like baking bread fresh from the oven.

"You. Will. Be. Destroyed!" she roared sinking her teeth into his neck and crunching down so hard that bones could be heard cracking underneath, Reaper tried to reach her; spinning in a furry of dizzy circles as Link fought to pull himself up, his legs giving way as he did so.

He drew his bow one final time and shot an arrow.

It struck Reaper in the chest and grew flowers and vines around his body, all of them reaching for his head.

Reaper threw Pippa off to Link's feet and screamed, his form changing constantly in the shape of an odd blob of purple goo till he was nothing but a Flame floating in the air. Life Fruit fell from the clouds, crashing through the melting ice and squirting out their juice onto the Flame, causing it to hiss like an angry fire.

"Got you!" Zelda snapped clasping him in a bottle filled with some grass and weed from the bottom of the ocean. She screwed the cork on as tight it would go and pocketed it before rushing to Link's side. Pippa was pawing his face as he lay there gasping for breath, his face as white as a sheet and his limbs shaking with cold.

"Link, hang on, please." Zelda whimpered holding his head, Cole drew a fire arrow from Link's quiver and held it at his face, but Link just batted it away and lay still, shutting his eyes with a small smile.

Cole cupped his mouth as Zelda sat him up, despite the look of pure pain on his face.

They all looked at the growing tree before them; the already thick trunk appeared to be growing a face. A branch came down from the skies almost like a hand and offered Rosie to skip over the ice blocks towards them and drop to her knees.

Link opened his hands, one hanging onto Zelda's shoulder and the other holding Rosie's. He leaned over slightly and the world started to rumble under the waves.

"Link?! What are you doing?!" Cole shouted grabbing his shoulders as the boy started to grow vines out of his ripped clothes, his fingers turning tree green underneath them along with little pink flowers that were poking out of his dirty hair.

The shield rumbled so much that everyone was a blur as they held each other. The ground quaked underneath them and threw out huge, terrifying waves of hot water, steam shot through the shield's walls, gathering at the bottom underneath their feet along with several other chunks of land. Tempus held Romani tightly and his sons even tighter between them. Sky clung onto Aurora, his eyes screwed shut in her fur; Ezekiel and Impa held each other close watching the sunlit sky start to grow brighter above the dark waves. The Queen had no one to hold as the pressure under the land grew ever greater.

Soon after they heard a loud, ungodly scream from above.

Zelda shook her head and leaned up on her elbows, the force of Link's scream had pushed them all to slide across the thin ice as if they were hockey pucks.

Link stood upright, one hand holding his chest while the other was at his mouth, wiping his face free of blood. He walked across to Zelda opening his hand out for his mask.

"Link, you can't use your power now! You'll die!" Zelda snarled jumping up, Link brought his arms around her shoulders, his dirty hands weaving through her hair and on her back.

"Are you mad?!" Cole screamed as Link snatched his mask from her pouch and placed it on his face. Pippa spread her wings out and bounded over to Link's side as the man created a little ball of light in his hands.

"No! Stop!" Rosie roared as he was engulfed by it, Pippa too. Rosie made a run for it, pressing her hands on a solid object that the light had made around her brother. She could just see him inside, his eyes open and the vines growing around him, hugging him. He brought his arms over his chest as the cocoon he had made began to rise above the ice; joining the Arrow Birds in the sky as they made a circle around it, their wings in beat as the cocoon spun on its tip in the air. Rosie squinted down through the water as green light shone through and the land quaked with even harder force around them.

"Get to the tree!" Cole shouted grabbing Zelda's arm as her gaze was fixed on the spectacle above. "Come on, Zelda!" he shouted tugging on her sleeve

"But-" Zelda stammered, unable to put words together

"Now!" he ordered pushing her ahead while dragging Rosie towards the towering tree that was surrounded by clear water.

A great chunk of land broke through the water, surrounded by a shield of deep green, emerald grass coating it and white sandy beaches on the coast lines. More rose, some with mountains that touched the clouds, some with thick forests and bushy trees, while some were completely empty and barren. Land appeared under the trees roots, bringing it out of the water totally and into its own little island, then finally; the shield that had fallen beneath the waves floated up, growing from atop a grey tower that could be seen for miles in any direction. The shield dispelled when the water purified from its dark state and thousands of ghostly figures could be seen leaving the water and heading for the heavens high in the clouds.

The cocoon began to fade; revealing a pair of feet and legs before slowly working its way up; but the leaves and vines were all that could be seen, they had grown over his clothes, eating him whole in the position he had been in. He fell from the sky head first and crashed into the waves. Zelda and Rosie screamed as Cole dived into the water from a branch to catch him before he sunk too far, the part of water tunic he had shared with Zelda giving him all the energy and breath he needed.

Pippa glided down from above and landed on a tree branch, scrambling to keep a grip on with her claws before jumping down, her wings disappearing like dust as Cole hauled Link out of the water and set him down on the white beach it had made, every part of him was covered in vines except his barely open eyes; his mask popped off like a cork yet no matter how much Cole pulled at vines, they would regrow over his body, tangling further and growing thick thorns that bit at his skin to bleed. Zelda and Rosie jumped down from the tree and dropped to their knees before him, Rosie clung onto Link's hand, weeping her eyes out as the vines grew thicker around her brother's fingers, making them lifeless and as strong as stone.

Link's gaze turned to each of the onlookers before stopping at Zelda, he gave a weak smile offering a heavy hand to her tear soaked face; she took it in her hands, the crimson seeping through the green.

She leaned down as his eyes closed and kissed the eyelids, covering them in her tears till they looked like diamonds, the vines closed up over his face and his arms fell into the sand.

The Plague had done as it had said. It had killed the Earth Mage.

**0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Oh. My. God. I so wanted to get this out to you, mainly because Romani had hurt Ezekiel (Broke his nose and wrist) And that Reaper was gone, the ones he killed were finally free. Doesn't the world he created seem...familiar at all? Where is that from? But, giving them land to live on has...well...you know, you read it...so now what do they do?


	47. Finale - Butterflies Of Spring

**Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART**

Finale - Butterflies Of Spring

Tempus put out the fire with a flask of water, it had been a few months since they had placed Link in the newly named Mother and Child Isles; the area was decorated with flowers from many a bouquet, Tempus had made his own little home there, planting the flowers the townspeople had brought to thank their saviour, Sky would normally fly overhead keeping an eye on everyone, a welcome sight among with the three other Arrow Birds.

Cole had gone back to his studies with Zelda, often teaching Rosie rather than himself, but Rosie was hardly in the mood to concentrate these days, most times she would just be holding her brother's mask and travel on Sky to see him and Link. Though Link's body had been buried multiple times, the vines would pull the dirt off him, not to mention Pippa would dig him up constantly to lie on his stomach or over his legs, her wings wrapped around her like a new born chick. She did not speak anymore and would often howl at the moon and the sorrow filled stars, each of them making their light shine on the world as civilization begun to spread. A little settlement had been made on the larger of the lands to the east; it had been a rough few months.

Tempus pulled the blankets up to his neck and lay his head on the pillows."You know, Pippa, you should go for a walk at some point, Link's not going far." Tempus sighed watching her lie next to Link's side under his arm

Pippa remained silent for a short while "I'm not leaving Master."

"Suit yourself. I just thought you might want to see Rosie and the others tomorrow." Tempus muttered lying down on a thin blanket turning over so he had his back to her. He felt her come close, rubbing her back against his, Tempus turned over and stroked a hand through her fur, she whined and lifted her head to howl "Let me join in on this one." Tempus smiled placing his mask on his face after receiving it back off the group.

Together they howled, but Tempus's mourning howl was different to her own, he wagged his tail and howled a tune meant for healing sorrow filled hearts, Pippa joined in; their song weaving into the wind.

When the song finished a beam of light opened up behind Link's standing vine statue.  
Pippa lifted her wings up in defence as a figure made his way forward, the image behind him made of a long grassy knolls and a blue cloudless sky. Tempus took a few unsure paces back onto his blankets, his back raised and teeth showing as the blind white eyes of the seven-foot-god came forward, the beam of light dispelling behind him. A few butterflies that had been hiding in the flowers came and landed on his arms and hanging onto his hair as he stepped onto the land, charming a sword in his hands, the double helix blade and a large black winged Labrador with white fur and blank eyes, their body was tattooed with blue and red stripes that ran and shone in their wings. The Labrador was larger than the average one, almost past Tempus's hips and that man was over six-foot as it was.

"_At ease, Tempus_." he spoke turning his gaze to Pippa, her wings covering Link's face

"I'm not yours to order around! You abandoned me!" Pippa barked tucking her tail between her legs and making her fur puff up

"_I did not abandon you, merely placed you on your path._" he said without even moving his lips, Pippa snarled and pounced for him, seizing one of his arms and crunching down, Tempus flinched but did not intervene. Pippa's teeth hurt with the metal armour that covered his flesh but continued to bite down, drawing a few drops of golden blood, disintegrating before it dropped on the ground. The white Labrador snarled and dived for her, teeth baring

"How dare you bite my Master!" came her voice from between the clenched teeth.

"If I hadn't found my Master, I would be dead!" she exclaimed "He wants to take mine away!"

"_I have come for Glint, actually. He can return now that he has fulfilled his duty as can Aurora and Sky; you however, have a choice._" he offered throwing his hand down in the same way Link would to order a stand down. The Labrador swiftly obeyed

Pippa opened her mouth and got back up "What choice would that be?"

"_You can return to the Realm with me…or you can stay on this earth as a canine._" he answered holding up his bleeding arm and touched her nose, enveloping her in golden light.

Tempus transformed into his human form in effort to catch Pippa before she fell; her eyes barely open. She had long fuzzy hair that passed her shoulders that was a deep shade of brown and a freckled face with a thin pink smile. She wore a short dark blue dress that stopped before her knees with a brown braided belt and long boots that crept up to under her knee. She opened her eyes and leaned on Tempus to steady herself.

"Fierce Deity." she whispered, pausing to think of her words "I can't go back to the Realm with you. I understand my role among my siblings."

"_I see._" he replied

"I know it means giving up my voice and my wings, along with my immortal life, but I have lived on this earth long enough for me to understand that I am a Guardian of the Gods, not a watcher of life like they are."

The Fierce Deity gave a rare smile "_You'd be willing to give all that up for your Master?_"

Pippa's eyes turned sad as he got closer to Link's body; Pippa stood between them "Yes. I would. Don't touch him!"

He retreated lifting his arms up and whistled so loud the ground shook; Pippa saw in the distance that Sky and Aurora were flying over the horizon, their wings outstretched.

"_I'm pleased with you, Tempus. You are relieved of your orders and can resume your life as you planned it._" the Fierce Deity smiled as a younger version of Link stood up from within the vines of Link, looking quite ghostly from his body and transformed into a huge black Labrador on par with Tempus's wolf form which was now in the Fierce Deity's hands.

"I'm glad you think so, My Lord. I've looked after your gift for many years." Tempus answered as Sky touched down on the ground "Though I'm a little disappointed that I'll have to shave more."

The Fierce Deity laughed "_You'll be teaching your boys how to do that next. Come on, everyone._"

"But what about Ala-Pippa?" Aurora asked flapping her wings and rubbing noses with the white Labrador

"_She's staying here. Aurora, return to the skies and shine bright on the night of the Princess's ball. You owe her that much._" he replied clicking his fingers, Tempus's mask transforming into a beautiful orange mask with black edges "_She understands what it is to be canine._"

"Thank you for controlling Master's power, Glint." Pippa said bowing down as her form began to change, the beam of light opened again; the Fierce Deity threw the mask at Tempus.

"Good luck!" Tempus cried waving to Sky as he changed form into his twittering sparrow-likeness "I'll miss you, bird brain!"

Sky laughed as the light started to fade away with all of the passengers accounted for "I'll see you again someday, you hairy mongrel, take care!"

Tempus smirked and glanced over at Pippa, her canine form returned and her wings gone. She rested her head down on Link's chest with a doggy smile, closing her eyes and bringing her paws over his stomach; her feet could feel the vines around her Master's body starting to slacken and give.

She was no longer a divinity but still remained as a Guardian of the Gods. Now all she would have to do is wait.

Zelda picked some flowers up from their little garden on a village to the east which was already starting to look like a port town. She sighed and walked to the water's edge, staring out to the site that Link's body was housed, the tears welling up in her face. She needed to go and see him before the sun set on the horizon, the townspeople were holding a masked ball in honour of their lost saviour and a late birthday, hence the masked part, people were coming from all over the land to make merry here, already coloured paper lights were decorating the crowd filled streets of badly built housing and circles of tents. Just in view; her mother; surrounded by kneeling guards was standing by a small stone that was already engraved with symbols, she placed a ring of flowers at the foot of it and crossed her chest, muttering to herself a single prayer. The guards all bowed their heads, each of them wearing a black piece of fabric around one of their upper arms.

"Milady, it's time to get ready." Leanne called from a window in a small stone building, no bigger than three rooms wide and a tower.

"Oh…okay, but I-" Zelda replied pointing her fingers out to sea

"You went yesterday and you know Sky doesn't like to fly at night, now come inside and get ready." Leanne ordered "Don't make me come and get you."

Zelda turned on her heel and ran up to the little memorial stone that her mother was standing by and ran into her arms, very unprincesslike but she had no idea what else she could do. Even after four months the tears would still form and drop. Cole had shed his as did Rosie, though she still wore black to mourn his loss and hardly ate anything. The flowers she had held dropped on the floor by her mother's.

"You are relieved." the Queen spoke, the guards lifted their swords and marched away in a line leaving the her to come down to her knees with her daughter and cry over the loss of her best friend as the sun set before them.

No one was really in much of a mood to dance the evening that followed; even the musicians found it hard to play something light and happy. The silence of the people was also unnerving; all dressed up in masks and costume they had made themselves or salvaged from the sea. Zelda leaned on the arm of her throne watching as another boat full of people joined in the dancing, her mother nodding her head like a dog to each that bowed before her. Cole tried to talk to people, he even played the violin a little in effort to make people smile; yet their gazes, even the Captain's was focused on the horizon.

Tempus stepped forward from the crowd wearing a dark ivy green suit, Pippa at his heels and bowed low to the queen. Zelda jumped up from her seat

"You came." she spoke stepping over to him, Tempus dropped to one knee and took her hand, his face clean and shaven.

"Of course I did. I wouldn't miss a party and I managed to get Pippa here too." he answered placing her gloved hand on Pippa's head, she dropped down to her knees and hugged the dog's neck till Pippa nearly choked on her own breath

"Why don't you speak?" Cole asked coming forward to stroke Pippa, his eyes covered by a large yellow mask, not to mention the suit he wore looked like it was made out of gold.

"She gave up her wings." Tempus replied "She wanted to stay on earth instead of going to the heavens with Aurora."

Cole took a step back "So she's-"

"A Guardian of the Gods. Yes. But somehow, she didn't see it that way till the very end, now she can't accept anything but it." Tempus chuckled "I should get up on stage."

"Please, don't, Tempus. We don't need an ocarina solo." the queen sighed, rubbing her temples under a swan mask, matching her stainless white dress with matching gloves

"Ocarina? Okay, I won't play the ocarina." he giggled wiping out the Zora mask and jumping on stage seconds after the familiar pain of the transformation. The little Zora musicians followed his lead as he turned his back to the unhappy dancers, plucking a few chords with his fingers and pulling funny faces to get them to smile before playing the intro to a tune they knew well, a little Zora child started to sing, her hands cupped over her heart, her voice timid and frightened. "Come on, sweetie, a little louder." he cooed crouching down, she went red for a moment and tried to sing louder without much luck. He waited for a long note and tickled her stomach, forcing volume into her voice and sung with her

"I've come to grips that that man will never grow up." the queen muttered sitting upright in her chair as Pippa lay next to her; feet hanging over the makeshift steps.

"Tempus is a kind man, Mother, he cares so much about people." Cole spoke without turning his head "If I may ask, can we pardon him? He has earned the respect of the royal family, possibly warmed up to us. When we first met he was so cold."

The Queen looked through her gloved hands "As far as I'm aware, Cole, the Kingdom of Hyrule is gone and a new age will begin upon boats and islands. Our status is irrelevant now."

"But-" Cole argued

"Enough, Cole. Go and dance." the Queen grunted, Cole bowed and joined in with a fast waltz that was beginning; Tempus began strumming heavy notes on the guitar with the little lead Zora. "Zelda, this includes you."

"I'm not in any mood to dance." Zelda answered watching the crowd, her gaze found a smartly dressed young man in an autumn coloured suit and butterfly mask dancing with Rosie; who was wearing no mask, but a thin black veil, her now red eyes shining like stars. She seemed happy to be in his company, though it had been the first time she had seen him. They twirled in perfect sync with everyone else; Rosie was even laughing when he lifted her high off the ground and brought her gently down so that her feet hardly made a sound.

"Zelda!" she called meeting her gaze and pulling the young man towards her by the wrist  
Zelda raised her head and looked through the eyeholes of her stone mask, her dress a similar colour to that of concrete; she was in no mood to dress pretty.

"This guy is a great dancer; honestly, I didn't think I could smile ever again!" Rosie squealed clapping her hands, Zelda was unsure whether to be overjoyed or terrified.

"Your Highness." the young man said bowing low to her

"Spare me the formalities, sir." Zelda snorted getting up from her seat, completely ignoring them

"That was rude." Rosie snorted taking his hand and dragging him forward, glancing at Tempus for a moment, she threw him forward so that he fell over on his face, pulling at Zelda's arm so she fell down with him

"What do you think you're doing?!" Zelda roared slapping him across the face, the butterfly mask hardly moved

"Your Highness! I'm sorry! I fell!" the young man squealed jumping up and dashing off out of sight.

Zelda grumbled to herself and looked out to sea once more, the night had already swallowed the horizon whole now.

She walked up the hill to the gravestone, sitting down on her knees and pulled off her gloves. There was a fresh bouquet of flowers with her name on the label facing her; the flowers were a beautiful orange, no wait, they were yellow and filled with hundreds of orange butterflies with white spots on their wings; all hungrily sucking the nectar from the centres of the flowers

"I thought they would look nice here." said a voice from the shadows; Zelda lifted the hem of her dress up and took a small dagger out from inside her boot. A butterfly landed on the tip

"Stop following me! Leave me alone!" Zelda roared charging forward, slicing his cheek. He backed away a little, his fingers inspecting the cut. "Have you no respect?!"

"You know, this seems awfully familiar." he chuckled removing his mask and pushing his hair back. Zelda dropped her dagger in the grass and took off her mask, the young man kicked the knife away slightly, reassuring himself it had not gone through his foot. "Though, last time, I was stopping Pippa attacking you." he said opening his arms

"Link!" Zelda cheered, her eyes welling up with tears as she ran into his arms, holding his neck and crying into his chest "You're alive and you can talk!"

"I promised, didn't I?" he smiled holding her close, his voice choking "Glint was housed within my body. Now he's gone, I can speak."

"It takes more than a promise to come back from the dead!" Zelda moaned pushing back to look at his face "Did Rosie know you're alive?! Does Tempus?!"

"They know." he whispered pointing to the sky, Aurora was shining overhead in green and blues across the entire cloud line, Link held Zelda in his arms. "After winter comes spring. Zelda, there is something much more important that I-"  
Pippa bounded up the green, her paws outstretched and pushed him over, licking his face and yapping playfully at him, he laughed and stroked her behind the ears with his fingers, Pippa hated playing that game, she wanted to be with him, not with the two-legged.

"What are you talking about?! You're alive!" Zelda squealed offering a hand.

Link merely smiled, "I just needed time to heal; that's all."

"Time to heal?! You were dead! There was no pulse!" Zelda said her eyebrows lowering

Link rolled his eyes "Pippa sacrificed her divinity for me. I saw everything from the flowers."

"You have another form now?" Zelda squeaked, Link held up his mask with a shallow nod

"It may not seem like much, but a butterfly seems right for another form." Link giggled winking an eye; he rubbed the back of her hands through her gloves and leaned forward, kissing her on the lips till she went bright red "I love you." he whispered in her ear.

No matter how quiet he had said it, the fact he had said it in his words and his voice was loud enough for her.

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Well, that's it. 47 weeks of writing, 248 pages and 120,664 words; this is the longest story I have ever wrote since ever. During this time you've read Link turning from an unfortunate thief to saving the world with the powers of the Goddesses. He has grown over this time. And so have I. I really enjoyed writing this, there were times when it drove me crazy but I'm glad I kept at this and I hope you guys enjoyed it.

Also, I want to give a huge thank you to Zeliga of DeviantART for all the cover art and illustrations she did for this piece of work; if you haven't already, check her gallery out. And thanks so much to all my readers of both my small works and big projects. I couldn't do it without you. Thanks so much.

My next piece of literature will be ready for the Christmas Hols. Thanks for reading!


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